


An unlikely turtle dove

by motorradfahrerin



Series: Birds of a feather flock together [1]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: BAMF Newt Scamander, Dragontamer Newt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gellert beeing genuinely nice to Newt, Gentleman Gellert Grindelwald, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Insecure Newt Scamander, Italian Mafia, M/M, Mischief, Not Canon Compliant - Movie 2: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Not so nice Theseus Scamander, Organized Crime, Protective Gellert Grindelwald, Rocky sibling relationship, Self-Discovery, Self-Esteem Issues, Slow Burn, slowly getting to know each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-01-15 23:41:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 69,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18509467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/motorradfahrerin/pseuds/motorradfahrerin
Summary: A story about how Newt becomes friends and then something more with a certain dark lord, Newt’s rocky relationship with his brother and how things come to a head when a threat from a Mafia out for revenge arises. Decisions will have to be made and some bridges will be burned along the way when Newt decides to listen to his heart’s wishes. Some beasts will be rescued as well, as the two outcasts from society slowly find to each other. Since who could understand better than Newt and Gellert, what it feels like to not fit in or be accepted just for who they are?





	1. Feeling's all wrong

Two men were lying in wait outside a quaint little cottage of a certain magizoologist on the outskirts of a little village far away from London. For the last few days the two Mafiosi had been observing the comings and goings around said cottage, as well as the daily routine of its owner. For their plan to succeed, the two Mafiosi wanted to make sure to catch the magizoologist alone with no help arriving for at least a few hours, preferably days. That was why they had been watching and waiting to find the perfect moment to enact their plan.

Just this morning the older of the two Mafioso brothers had managed to place an enchanted pebble in one of the flowerpots on the living room’s window sill. It was allowing the two stalkers to listen in on most of what was spoken inside the cottage. Only the sounds in the kitchen were occasionally fuzzy due to the distance to their enchanted pebble. Currently the two Scamander brothers were sitting at the small kitchen table, eating dinner.

“…and they never listen! It’s like they don’t want to learn or something! I don’t get it…” Theseus said, finishing his rant about his new trainees' lack of motivation. The younger Scamander didn’t look like was really listening, listlessly poking around his dinner instead. The auror either didn’t notice or didn’t care however, since the magizoologist had kept mostly nodding along to everything he had said.

Earlier Theseus had told his younger brother about his newest successful strike against one of the crime syndicates operating in Britain. Theseus explained that on the one hand he was happy that they had managed to arrest the head of the Bonazzola family and five of his lackeys. But on the other hand, he was also mourning the loss of a young auror’s life. Theseus grumbled about having had the sad duty to inform his relatives of his death.

When the two brothers were done eating, the magizoologist stood up and picked up their emptied plates to carry them over to the sink.

“Oh, and Newt!” Theseus called after him. “Don’t forget about next week! Percival and I’ll be arriving Thursday evening at the latest. After staying the night we’ll be heading off for the Conference early the next morning, ok?”

“Yeah, fine,” Newt acknowledged quietly from where he was rinsing their dirtied plates. Theseus had told Newt before how exited he was for the ‘International Conference on Fighting Crime’ in Madrid. Newt remembered that the Conference was held in a different country each year and that Theseus was happy he could attend together with his college Percival. The conference would be a three day event that would start next Friday noon. Aurors from all around the world would come together to discuss current threats and so on. Newt didn’t really care all that much personally, but he was happy for his brother.

As Newt started to sort the cleaned cutlery back into its drawer, Theseus went into the hall and picked up his coat.

“Newt, could you prepare some dinner on Thursday? Percival will surely be hungry after his journey here,” the auror asked before he glanced around the room and started to frown. “Perhaps you should also make the house a bit more presentable before we arrive?” Theseus suggested in a deceptively mild tone. “The cottage has its charm, with the whole organized chaos thing you have going on. But it doesn’t give off the best impression to visitors, don’t you think?”

“Ok,” Newt agreed meekly, knowing better than to argue with his brother.

“And I think the sheets in the guest room need to be dusted off,” Theseus added as he went back to where Newt stood by the kitchen counter. “I’m sure you’ll manage that and everything will be fine, when we get here,” Theseus tried to assure Newt. “But I’m afraid, I have to leave now or Leta will surely miss me!” the auror added jovially, before he put a hand on Newt’s upper arm.

Theseus brought up his other arm and pulled Newt into a hug. The younger man stood awkwardly, a slight grimace on his face. Newt didn’t reciprocate his brother’s uncomfortably tight hug and simply focused on enduring it for however long it would take.  When Theseus finally released him, Newt took a relieved step back and firmly avoided the other’s gaze.

Theseus frowned and studied his brother critically, the corners of his mouth turning down in displeasure at Newt’s antisocial behaviour.

“You really need to get out some more, Newt,” Theseus commented. “You’re nearly 30 now. It’s getting time for you to get married and start a family, don’t you think?” Theseus made an absent gesture with his hand before he continued, “I can understand that this assistant of yours - now what’s her name again?”

“…Bunty,” Newt mumbled nearly inaudible.

“Ah yes, Bunty! I can understand that she’s not your type. She’s rather plain, right?” Theseus mused before poking his brother into the chest. “But I’m sure there’s some nice girl out there for you. Maybe even in the ministry? I could certainly help you out with looking for one…”

“Thee, please…” Newt begged his brother with a pained expression on his face.

“Oh come on Newt!” Theseus exclaimed, annoyed by his brother’s constant refusals. “You can’t stay alone forever! People already think you’re strange, with all your dangerous beasts and stuff. But always staying alone? They’ll think you’re a spinster or…or one of those queers!” The auror spat in disgust.

“I don’t care what people think…” Newt mumbled toward the ground.  

Sighing, Theseus sensed there was no getting through to his brother today. Newt could be exceptionally stubborn when he wanted to be.

“Anyway…” the auror said as he turned to leave. “I’ll see you Thursday then!”

Throwing a dismissive wave over his shoulder, Theseus stepped outside, closing the front door not too gently behind himself. Newt stood in his kitchen for another minute before he took a deep breath and went into the living room where he lit a fire in the fireplace. 

~~~

The two watchers outside leaned back from where they had had followed the Scamander brothers' conversation attentively. The Mafiosi had quickly noted the differences the Scamander brothers seemed to have with each other.

They had noticed that the magizoologist was a rather strange person in general, often mumbling or stuttering when talking to people and being unable to look them in the eye. He was often hanging his shoulders, slouching and pathetically looking at the ground when talking to people. Only occasionally did the magizoologist glance up to look at people’s chins or ears. The younger Scamander definitely seemed to prefer the company of his filthy beasts, seemingly not minding getting covered in dirt and mucus while living alone in this old cottage in some sparsely populated village hours away from London or any other civilisation.

The Mafiosi noted that the only person the magizoologist regularly spoke to was his assistant/apprentice, a young woman called Bunty. She came in early in the morning on weekdays, usually taking over the first feeding round. The Mafiosi had observed that on Monday and Tuesday, she also took over the second feeding at lunch, since Newt typically used those two days to go to the market. Bunty usually left around three in the afternoon with Newt endeavouring to be back home by that time to take over.

The Mafiosi further gathered that every Wednesday afternoons a local farmer with a big cart full of a weekly ration of hay came by. Newt would help the farmer to put the fresh hay away into the rickety shire, before they loaded the emptied cart with the manure Newts beasts had produced since his last visit. The only other visitor to the magizoologist’s cottage was a young milk maid delivering some fresh bread, cheese and milk on Tuesday afternoons. The two spies thusly came to the conclusion that it would be ideal to strike this Friday evening. After two aurors and Bunty had left, Newt would be all alone for the rest of the day and for the whole of the following weekend.

The Mafioso had surmised early on that overwhelming the magizoologist wouldn’t be hard, since the redhead wasn’t a wizard of any particular power or skill in duelling. Plus they’d be catching him unawares. Once they got him secured, they’d use him to extract their sweet revenge on the magizoologist’s older brother, head auror Scamander. They had sworn to pay the head auror back for what he and his aurors had done to their older brother nearly three weeks ago. With the older Scamander far away on that auror conference, there would be no interruptions or help arriving and the magizoologist would be theirs to do with as they pleased.

Satisfied with their plan, the two Mafiosi apparated back to their manor, ordering one of their men to continue the observation in their stead. They would return Thursday evening in thehhope to overhear some useful information the two visiting aurors might blab out.

 

**~ Meanwhile somewhere in Belarus ~**

The dark lord was sitting in his office, sipping on a nice whiskey and trying to get rid of his headache. Grindelwald had to admit that the last four days he had spent listening to his men reporting on the state of their eastern European operations, have left him exhausted. Gellert liked fine-tuning his future strategies, yet the long hours he tended to keep when away on business seemed to finally take their toll on him.

The dark lord believed that maintaining a more personal relation to his loyal followers was worth all the effort though. Gellert thought nothing of barricading himself in his castle in Germany, only reading reports after something had already happened. He was convinced that not involving himself too deeply in his regional divisions’ business matters would be counterproductive to his cause.

So as night fell on the fourth and last day of his visit to Belarus, Gellert had concluded the last meeting with his advisers and generals when it had gotten dark outside. After requesting a simple dinner, the dark lord had retreated to the office beside his guest rooms. While eating dinner, he went over some of their budgeting and signed off on some more requests. An hour later, a pesky headache had started to unfortunately plague him though.

Gellert sighed and sat down his pen. He turned in his chair and poured himself some whiskey before he glanced out the window behind his desk. The nearly full moon high on the cloudless night sky offered a good view on the small muggle village down the hill. Gellert watched as its last residents were getting ready for sleep, the village turning completely dark not a few minutes later.

Just as Gellert turned back around and set down his half emptied drink, he noticed a silent alarm going off. Not a minute later there was a knock on his office door.

“Yes?” Gellert asked.

The door opened and in stepped the dark lord’s head of security, a stocky man called Hermann Brandt. Gellert had known him for more than a decade and Hermann had proven himself and his loyalty time and time again. He had thusly gained Gellert's trust on a level very, very few ever did. Hermann was the closest thing to a confidante and friend the dark lord had. Gellert had even been there at Hermann’s wedding and when his two daughters had been born.

“Please excuse the late disturbance, but the intruder wards around the mountainside warehouses were set off a minute ago,” Herman reported in a clipped voice. Hermann knew well when a situation called for strict professionalism and when a more familiar tone was appropriate. “There are one or more persons currently trespassing. A team is being gathered to investigate the incident at this moment.”

“Hmm…” the dark lord acknowledged before he threw a calculating glance at the many unread documents still laying on his desk. Gellert was not looking forward to the next couple of hours it would take him to read through all of them. Maybe the crisp night air would be more helpful in alleviating his current headache? Taking a stroll after sitting around inside all day long would certainly not be amiss and who knows what he might find at the warehouses? At least it would be a welcome relief from the tedious signing of seemingly endless documents.

“Please inform the response team that I’ll join then shortly,” Gellert replied after he had made up his mind.

“Will do,” Hermann replied before giving a short nod and walking out, closing the door behind himself.

Gellert tidied up his desk before rebuttoning the cuffs of his previously rolled up sleeves. He picked up his coat from the hanger by the door and put it on while making his way downstairs and outside onto the front driveway. After shortly greeting his ready and waiting men, they were off, apparating to a small clearing in the woods behind their warehouses.

Immediately upon their arrival one of Gellert’s men ran a quick diagnostic spell on the wards discreetly lain around the perimeter of the six unassuming warehouses. Said man ascertained that a lone person had entered the perimeter about 10 minutes ago, coming from the direction of the mountains behind them. Further detailing, he said that the trespasser had then gone ahead and broken into warehouse 4, where potions useful for interrogation where being stored among other things. Since no further ward had been triggered, it was clear that the burglar was still currently inside that warehouse.

The dark lord thereupon ordered his men to surround warehouse 4 and secure all possible exits. Before sending three men inside to look for the burglar, Gellert put up an anti-apparition ward spanning the surrounding area.

Not three minutes after the dark lord’s men had entered the warehouse, the anticipating silence was broken by the sound of shattering glass as the burglar tried to make his escape by jumping out a window. The two men closest to the broken window were quick to put out the burglars hopes of escaping. They confiscated the man’s wand before they bound him and put him on the ground in front of them. They had been so quick that the trespasser didn’t even have any chance to defend himself.

As the apprehended man was loudly swearing and cursing, the dark lord ordered a few of his unoccupied men to check the adjacent woods for any possible accomplices before unhurriedly sauntering closer to the burglar. The bound man had started to complain loudly as his coat was taken off for searching, threatening to call the aurors on them for detaining and manhandling him. His useless wriggling on the ground ceased however as he finally noticed the leader of his captors coming closer. The burglar cut himself off mid-sentence and paled, apparently just now realising whose warehouse he had broken into.  

As Gellert’s men were inspecting the contents of the burglar’s coat, indeed finding a few potions stolen from their warehouse, they also came across a battered tin can. The tin can was enchanted with an enlargement charm, creating a small storage space. Out of said space a shrieking whirlwind the size of a chicken was pulled. Clearly surprised the man doing the searching dropped the thing. It fell to ground and immediately tried to get as far away from them as possible while letting out panicked clucking noises. The chicken-like thing wasn’t getting very far though, probably due to its weak and obviously hurt state.

“Put down your wands,” Gellert calmly ordered his alarmed men and went over to inspect the feathered thing. Due to its colourful appearance it was rather easily identifiable. Looking back towards his still wary men, the dark lord drawled, “I hope that an adolescent and abused diricawl is certainly no reason for you to feel threatened?”

Sighing, the dark lord turned back around and crouched down to the ground a few meters away from the frightened, but no longer panicking diricawl. Wondering why the diricawl wasn’t apparating away, Gellert conjured a few flour worms into his hand.

“Good evening little chick,” Gellert muttered softly towards it. “I know you are frightened but I’m not going to hurt you.”

Gellert continued talking to the diricawl in a calm voice while offering it some of the worms. The chick kept eyeing him critically as he unhurriedly inched closer. As it smelled the worms, its hunger seemed to overcome its fear and it picked them out of Gellert’s hand hastily.

“Shh, shh, little chick. No need to hurry, you can always have more.”

The chick seemed to calm down further as if sensing the meaning of Gellert’s words. The dark lord looked over the diricawl’s damaged plumage, noticing many missing feathers that were creating a few bald spots. A thick iron ring crushing the diricawl’s right leg seemed to be what was blocking the bird’s magic, keeping it from fleeing.

Slowly reaching inside his coat, Gellert intended to pull out his wand to get rid of the ring. However, as soon as the hurt bird saw what he had in his hand, it flinched and started shaking badly. Quickly putting the wand away again, Gellert managed to calm its frightened trills by feeding it another few worms.

Raising his hand, Gellert muttered an unlocking spell and managed to remove the ring crushing its leg wandlessly instead. The chick’s leg above and below the removed ring was swollen, while the skin underneath looked chaffed raw and possibly infected. The healing spells Gellert tried to cast unfortunately didn’t seem to work since the diricawl’s skin apparently had some kind of resistance to magic.

“I’m sorry, there’s not much more I can do for you, other than feed and water you. But you are lucky! I know just the man who can help you,” Gellert muttered as he gently scooped the chick up and held it in his arms. “We’ll go meet him tomorrow, what do you think? I know he’ll be happy to meet you and he can take care of you much better than I can.”

As the dark lord carefully carded through the diricawls matted feathers, straightening a few along the way, it started to cluck in contentment.

“You are a right _Turteltäubchen_ , aren’t you?” Gellert observed, as his new friend continued to seemingly tell him about all the injustice it had experienced in a long series of chirps and coos.

Finally standing up, Gellert looked back over his shoulder at his head of security who had taken up position behind the apprehended burglar and thief. Knowing Hermann would understand his unvoiced order, Gellert gave him a slight nod before apparating back to their base, never seeing the green light briefly illuminating the night around his warehouses.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it so far! Next chapter we’re going to have Newt and Gellert meeting and we’re getting more insight into how their relationship has changed into something like friendship after the incident in New York.
> 
> Also, at the end of each chapter I’d like to recommend a song which I feel reflects the mood of what’s been happening in it. The titles of each chapter will be taken from that song as well.  
> So, to start things off, the first recommended song is: Melody Gardot - your heart is as black as night [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bopmaWKHNK0)
> 
> If you want to, you can find me on tumblr [here](https://motorradfahrerin.tumblr.com)


	2. Don’t gotta chase the dogs away

The morning sky was overcast, the sun barely visible through the thick clouds as Newt woke up to this bleak Monday morning. As Newt got out of bed, he realized he may have slept longer then intended, the clock already reading 9.46 AM. Quickly washing and shaving, Newt threw on some clothes before heading downstairs.

After boiling some water, the magizoologist grabbed his favourite chipped mug. Newt picked out a bag of Darjeeling tea and put it into the mug to steep. After buttering two slices of bread, he decided to put strawberry jam on one and honey on the other. Newt went over to peer out the kitchen’s back window as he bit into the honeyed slice. Spotting Bunty carrying some fresh hay toward the entrance of the basement, he waved at her as she went past. Not yet fully awake and still uncaffeinated, Newt didn’t pay enough attention to what his other hand was doing, however. He therefore managed to get honey all over it, some of it even dripping down to land on the ground.

Groaning in exasperation Newt devoured the remaining honeyed slice before cleaning up the mess he had made with a wave of his wand. Turning back to his now over-steeped tea, Newt took out the bag and sighed, knowing the black tea would taste noticeably bitter now. Not wanting to waste the tea, he drank it anyway and tried to keep it from coming in contact with his tongue. He grimaced as the concentrated bitterness of the last gulp hit his tongue anyway. Trying to rid himself of the foul taste, Newt bit into the slice of bread with the strawberry jam on it.

After finishing his rushed breakfast, Newt rinsed his emptied mug and set it aside to dry. The magizoologist went into the hall and put on his coat and scarf. Making sure he had everything he needed, Newt apparated to the market place over by the next bigger city, while hoping he wouldn’t be too late and find some things already sold out.

In the market place, Newt went from stall to stall and gathered his desired items. The dark clouds that had gathered overnight, unfortunately opened up only a few minutes after Newt had arrived and it started raining heavily. Because marketgoers were trying to get home before the impending storm hit with its full force, the market place was emptying rapidly. The merchants in turn closed their stalls and started to pack up.

Taking refuge underneath a slightly overhanging door jamb, Newt checked over his purchases and noticed he was missing one item from his list. Knowing he needed to get the woodruff roots to make more potions for treating the eye infections of his two recently rescued mooncalves, Newt sighed. He pulled up his coat collar and stepped back into the rain before apparating away.

Reappearing in an old beech forest, Newt went about looking for the woodruff he needed. The rain had meanwhile turned into a downpour and the wind had picked up significantly. Despite his umbrella spell, Newt’s coat was rapidly getting soaked as he tried not to slip on the wet, moss-covered roots. The forest was deserted and the wind was howling loudly as it violently tossed the overhead tree branches around every which way.

That was why Newt thought he might be excused for not noticing the person approaching him. As the magizoologist looked up worryingly at the tree branches, he finally spotted the person standing a few meters to his right. Startling badly, Newt dropped the few woodruff roots he managed to collect so far as he whirled around.

“Apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the blonde man Newt instantly recognised greeted.

Still overcoming his surprise, Newt only managed to mutter a simple “Hello, Gellert” in reply.

The magizoologist was still a bit nervous around the dark wizard, despite already having met him several times in the past. He was a bit uncertain about Gellert’s motives for seeking him out, but so far the dark lord hadn’t tried to threaten or harm him.

On the contrary, Gellert had once offered his help in getting Newt some of the harder to acquire herbs for some medicinal potions the magizoologist needed for his more exotic beasts. Newt had declined him at that time and quickly excused himself before apparating away. Somewhat surprised he was even let go, the magizoologist had safely arrived at his intended destination wondering what just happened.

A few days after that encounter, Newt had run into the dark lord again. This time Grindelwald wanted to gift him some rare Bernstein stones engraved with runes. Newt knew what they were since he had wished for a long time to get one of those for his animals. These specially engraved Bernstein stones emanated an atmosphere many feline species found soothing. It could alleviate their anxieties, making them feel more secure and relaxed which was pretty useful for boosting their recovery.

So he had stayed, hesitating before he had eventually asked Grindelwald what he wanted in return for them. The dark lord had reassured him the stones were a gift and a way of him apologising for his rash actions in New York. The German had told him that he regretted his actions and wanted to make amends.

Grindelwald had sounded remorseful and sincere and Newt had been considerably tempted by his gift. Deciding to trust his gut instinct, Newt had tentatively reached out his hand and had taken the offered Bernstein stones. Newt had quietly thanked Grindelwald who in turn promptly asked to be called Gellert, please. Standing around awkwardly and not knowing what to do at that time, Newt had come to the decision that it would be rude to ignore Grindelwald's request to be called by his given name. Addressing the dark lord as Gellert, Newt had offered him that he may call him by his first name as well.

That was how they had formed a tentative truce and their irregular meetings had started. Gellert would sometimes bring Newt some hard to come by herb or a useful tool and each time they met, they had talked a bit more. Newt had begun to tell the other more about his animals and the unique character each one of them had and Gellert apparently wasn’t bored by this, as he had assured Newt multiple times that he enjoyed listening to his little anecdotes.

In the present, Newt had gotten over his surprise and he ducked down to pick up his dropped bundle of woodruff roots. Gellert on the other hand cast a spell that materialized a transparent dome above them, shielding them from the worst of the wind and rain.

“I, uh didn’t expect to meet you…or anyone else really,” Newt murmured, smiling shyly as he shortly glanced up to the other man’s face.

“There’s nothing wrong in not expecting company while stumbling around an overgrown forest in the middle of a storm,” the dark lord replied, a slight smirk pulling up one side of his mouth. Gellert shortly glanced up at the wildly tossing tree branches above them. “Dare I ask what you are still doing outside in this weather though?”

Newt nervously shifted from one foot to the other. “The market closed and I didn’t manage to get any woodruff roots,” he answered, feeling a bit embarrassed. “You see, the two mooncalves I got last week… they have an eye infection and I found out that cooking woodruff root together with some sage and chamomile has a beneficial influence on the resulting herbal extract…” Newt tapered off when he belatedly noticed the bundle in Gellert's arms since it had started to move.

“Oh, has the storm woken you up, little chick?” Gellert muttered as he looked down and unwrapped part of the bundle in his arms. Newt gasped as he instantly identified the young diricawl. The magizoologist hastily stepped closer to the other man to get a better look at the young chick.

“I found it yesterday when we apprehended a burglar that had broken into one of our warehouses,” Gellert explained, nodding toward the bird in his arms. “It seemed breaking and entering wasn’t the man’s only speciality, as he had this little chick with him.”

The diricawl continued to wriggle as Gellert talked, further dislodging the warm blanket it was wrapped inside. The bird looked around it’s the unfamiliar surroundings and started chirping nervously.

Gellert smiled back at the worried magizoologist before he added, “But luckily I know an expert who’d probably love to take care of her.”

Newt’s heart broke a little as he took in the diricawl’s malnourished state, its many missing feathers and the injury on its leg. Reaching inside his coat, Newt took out small tub filled with a home-made healing cream.

“It’s alright, little girl,” Newt began talking, noting the diricawl chick’s hesitation as it slightly cowered back into Gellert's arms. “You are save here. No one will harm you.”

Showing it the tub with the healing cream, Newt added, “I have helped a few diricawls like you before. They were also scared and hurt like you. You see, I have this cream,” Newt elaborated as he unscrewed the tub and let the diricawl sniff it. “It will help the wound on your leg to heal up faster. I promise it won’t hurt a bit and it will also reduce the pain,” the magizoologist added, noticing the chick relaxing again. “So, I’d like apply some of it to your leg. Would you let me, brave little girl?” he finally asked.

Putting some of the cream on his finger and not sensing any protest, Newt cautiously reached out and managed to smear some of it over the diricawl's wounds. In the meantime, Newt kept praising the chick’s braveness and uttered soft reassurances.

“There now, all better,” Newt stated when he was done.

The chick started clucking in contentment as the cream took effect and alleviated some of her pain.

“See, I knew he’d be able to help you,” Gellert said to the drowsy chick before he glanced up towards Newt. “I wanted to heal its leg, but none of the spells I tried had any effect.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s normal! Their skin has some resistance to most healing spells…” Newt answered before peering questioningly at the dark lord. “But how did you even get her to trust you? She’s very shy. It couldn’t have been easy…”

A smile hushed over Gellert’s face before he replied. “I’ve read somewhere, that most avian species like flour worms. So, I conjured some up and simply offered them to it while I kept talking. It wasn’t that hard to be honest,” Gellert admitted with a shrug.

“No, no! You see… diricawls are very good at sensing someone’s intentions. She would have known if you had tried to deceive her and would have refused the worms. So it is no small feat to get her to feel that comfortable around you,” the redhead protested before adding shyly, “She’s a little hen by the way, probably about 5 months old. From a Graeco-Macedonian line judging by her shortened head feathers.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed by the fond look Gellert was regarding him with, Newt blurted out the next best question he came up with: “Do you perhaps remember which book it was that had mentioned the tip with the flour worms?”

“Mhm, let me think… It was something published recently,” Gellert mused, starting to grin. “When I read it I could tell that the author had been very thorough in his research and clearly knew what he was talking about. Undoubtedly a man passionate about his craft,” Gellert continued, looking at the magizoologist with a twinkle in his eyes. “I think it had something about ‘magnificent beasts’ in its title. Or maybe it was ‘fantastical…’”

The blush rapidly spreading on Newt’s face when the magizoologist got Gellert’s meaning, caused the dark lord to let out a soft chuckle. The flustered magizoologist ducked his head and eyed his shoes before looking off somewhere into the forest. Opening his mouth and not finding any words, Newt closed it again and looked back in the vague direction of the still grinning dark lord.

“You are exaggerating…” Newt eventually managed to mumble out.

“Rest assured, it was nothing but the truth.”

Newt however couldn’t completely believe the other. The magizoologist had read some of the criticism his book had gotten. Some people had mentioned that he had left out details on one subject while focusing too heavily on another. Some had scoffed at his gentler approach on handling more ‘aggressive’ beasts, instead stating a firmer hand would yield much better results. The ones that got to Newt the most however, were those that said his book was more a children’s book, but could still partially be useful as a hunting guide.

“I know some people who would beg to differ, ” Newt dared to disagree quietly.

“Then they clearly didn’t read the same book I did,” Gellert stated firmly, expression having turned serious again.

Newt slightly pulled up his shoulders, not wholly convinced, but didn’t dare voicing his doubt lest he might anger the other man.

“Newton, please. I’d like to share some experience with you that I’ve made over the years. It’s something I like to keep in mind,” Gellert started, sensing Newton’s scepticism. When Newt turned his head slightly in his direction to indicate that he was listening, Gellert continued. “There will always be those who wish to talk you down or to discredit your work. Self-proclaimed experts will be nit-picking on the smallest things, trying to get some attention or recognition by badmouthing on other people’s work. That’s just how people are, I guess. Some journalists will purposefully misinterpret the meaning of your words, hoping that by making a lurid headline they can convince more people to buy their paper that day.”

Pausing briefly and probably picking the right words, Gellert continued calmly. “I came to understand that those kind of people are exceptionally selfish, having a worldview that rarely encompasses more than themselves. Those people like to look down on others. They think they are something better than their fellow men by simply existing. And yet, they are deeply insecure and crave attention and validation from others. Not knowing how else to get it, they like to leech off of other person’s honest work instead of accomplishing something on their own.” Gellert took a step closer to Newt who seemed to ponder his words.

“I pity those people. People who are so bitter in life they’d rather lash out at others than face their own insecurities. People who cry injustice when criticised in return. Quick to dash out their opinions, but never being open to a discussion. Cowardly turning tail when disproven, rather vanishing instead. Back to their comfortable little hidey-holes they go, I guess,” Gellert finished his rant, not as calm anymore as he was when he had started it.

Shifting the weight of the dozing diricawl chick onto one arm, Gellert searched for Newt’s gaze. The magizoologist didn’t notice though since he kept his gaze somewhere between Gellert’s right shoulder and chin.

“So, what I said earlier. I meant it as an acknowledgement of what you accomplished all by yourself and the many good deeds you’ve done by helping all those creatures,” Gellert concluded. Pausing briefly, Gellert raised his freed hand to lightly stoke the outside of his curled fingers down the magizoologist’s forearm.

Startled by the brief touch, Newt questioningly looked up into Gellert's eyes. The magizoologist was surprised to note that he didn’t feel totally uncomfortable, like he usually did when other people got too close or touched him.

“Don’t let ignorant people be the judge of your worth,” Gellert said, noting the magizoologist’s now slightly widened eyes. The dark lord held the younger man’s gaze for a few more seconds before looking down at the bundle in his arms.

Newt fidgeted with his hands before he came up with a reply. “I…thank you! For your words. What you said…I think I know what you mean,” Newt stuttered out, searching for the right words to articulate what he felt. “Some people can be very selfish indeed, especially those preying on humans or animals. And…and…I try not to listen to them or their mean words, but sometimes it gets a bit harder to ignore them… and I kind of forget what I know about their type and let their words get to me.”

“Then I’ll always be happy to remind you,” the dark lord promised as he carded trough the diricawl's head feathers, a small smile on his lips.

The little chick in the dark lord’s arms had been clucking and tittering the whole time, rising in volume the longer she was ignored by the two men.

“Now, what got you all in an uproar, _Turteltäubchen_?” the German questioned the diricawl.

“She’s probably hungry again,” Newt answered, looking sympathetically at the little chick.

“Or she just had enough of this storm,” the dark lord commented dryly.

“Yeah, that could also be it…”

“You better take her to her new home then,” Gellert said cheerfully before transferring the little chick into Newt’s waiting arms.

“Thanks again! I’ll make sure to get her settled in properly! She might have to stay inside the house for the first few days however…so I can make sure she doesn’t overtax her healing leg,” Newt said, smiling down at the newest addition to his household. “Oh and I meant to ask,” Newt started after briefly glancing up to Gellert’s face. “Did you name her? That word you called her earlier…it sounded German?”

“No, I haven’t named her and yes that was German. It wasn’t a name though, more some kind of nickname I came up with when I found her,” Gellert admitted.

“Does it have a meaning?”

“Yes, in English the zoological term for ‘Turteltäubchen’ would be ‘turtle dove’. Yet, I’m not quite sure how to translate the german diminutive ‘-chen’. ‘Cute turtle dove’ maybe? She just reminded me of them with all the ‘talking’ she does,” Gellert explained.

“She is rather vocal,” Newt agreed to the dark lord’s observation. “You’ve picked a very fitting nickname, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to say it without completely butchering the pronunciation,” Newt joked. His eyes were crinkled in delight as he threw a short glance up at Gellert's face before looking back down towards his little patient again.

“Thanks, but I thought I’d leave the naming to you. You usually come up with the most charming names,” Gellert jested, a grin on his lips.

Newt ignored the other man’s jab and contemplated which name would be a good choice for the little chick. Considering she came from Macedonia or Greece, Newt tried to come up with something indicating her heritage.

“Theophania,” was what the magizoologist settled on in the end.

 “Yeah, that is clearly much easier to pronounce,” Gellert remarked promptly.

“- Theo for short,” Newt continued undeterred by Gellert’s comment. The newly named chick seemed to approve of Newt's choice, going by her exited chirping and wriggling. However, she might also simply enjoy being the centre of attention.

“Theo it is then,” the dark lord affirmed. Gellert smiled at Theo before briefly glancing over at their surroundings. Noting the creaking trees and many fallen twigs around them, he said, “the storm has worsened while we’ve been busy talking.”

“Yes, your right,” Newt agreed after turning around and taking a look at their surroundings himself. Theo let out an indignant squeak in the meantime as she strained her neck to look around Newt and back at Gellert.

“It’s alright, little girl,” Gellert appeased her after Newt had turned back towards him again. “I’m going to miss you, but you go with Newton now, ok?”

“She’s quiet attached to you,” Newt noted. Theo was still making disgruntled noises under her breath at having to part with the man who had saved her.

“She probably only likes me for my flour worms,” Gellert remarked, adopting a faked expression of hurt to try to distract from the fond smile stealing across his face.

“No, I don’t think so…” Newt replied, easily seeing through the dark lord’s charade. Newt peered down at his shoes, biting his lips nervously. “You know, you could always come by to visit her…that is…if you’d like to?” Newt added after making up his mind.

The dark lord’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “If I would be welcome?” he asked, his tone of voice uncharacteristically sheepish. 

The magizoologist noted with surprise that for the first time since he had known the dark lord, the other man had opened up somewhat. The tight control the dark lord usually had on the way he expressed himself seemed to have slipped slightly, allowing Newt a glimpse at what was lurking behind the intimidating persona Gellert liked to present to the world.

“Yes, of course,” Newt replied, smiling as he assured Gellert of his welcome.

“Then I’d be happy to accept. Thank you very much for the invitation,” Gellert replied, not trying to tone down the warm smile that Newt’s assurance had elicited. “When would be a good time to come by?”

“Oh, um… sometime on Friday or on the weekend?” Newt mused as he mentally went through his calendar. “My brother will come over Thursday afternoon and then stay the night before leaving Friday morning. He’ll probably be back by Sunday evening. Bunty and I will most likely finish up around 3 p.m. on Friday… So, I’d be free the rest of the day and for most of the weekend…except for the usual feeding rounds that is,” Newt added with a small smile.

“Friday would be a good time,” Gellert replied, “Say, on the evening sometime around 6 p.m.?”

“Fine with me!” Newt affirmed. “Oh, and you can just come directly inside, because I might not hear you knocking if I’m in the basement or upstairs… and I’ll prepare something for dinner, ok?”

“You don’t have to…” Gellert started, but interrupted himself when Newt readied himself to protest. “Ok, ok, thank you very much then! But know that you don’t have to make dinner,” Gellert said, wanting the other man to know that he didn’t have to inconvenience himself just because he’d come by for a visit. Gellert raised a finger before adding, “If you’re going to feed me though, then you’ll have to allow me to bring something for dessert.”

“Ok, deal!” Newt grinned before he gave Gellert his address.

“Very well, I’ll be looking forward to Friday evening then!” Gellert reached out his hand and gave Theo’s head one last goodbye scratch.

“Me, too! See you!” Newt replied with a happy smile.

Taking a step back and throwing a last glance at Gellert’s still smiling face, Newt grabbed hold of his wand and apparated back home. After Newt had disappeared, Gellert picked up a random piece of fallen branch and applied the newest untraceable portkey-spell he had invented to it. Not a second later, Gellert dropped his shield that had kept out the storm so far. He vanished with a muted pop as he activated the portkey that would take him back to Germany.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s it for now!  
> Next chapter Theseus and Percival will be coming by to visit Newt and there’ll be further insight into the two brother’s troubled relationship.  
> FYI: Everything about the woodruff was randomly made up. I have no idea if it actually helps with anything! As for the beast Gellert was going to give Newt, I picked something bird-like, cause I’ve loved birds ever since I had a budgie when I was a kid.
> 
> For this chapter I’d like to suggest you listen to the song: Exhale by Skye [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CVgqC3-M_U)
> 
> If you want to, you can find me on tumblr [here](https://motorradfahrerin.tumblr.com)


	3. The cracked and the cared for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has left kudos/bookmarked/commented/subscribed! I love you all, so here: Have another chapter!

It was Thursday afternoon and the two Mafiosi brothers found themselves sitting back up in a certain tree nearby a certain cottage. The resident magizoologist had just finished with his beasts and his assistant Bunty had already bid him farewell until tomorrow.

They watched how the younger Scamander brother picked up a wicker basket and went to gather some fresh vegetables from the garden behind his cottage. When he got what he wanted, the redhead went back inside and washed his harvest before peeling and dicing the fresh potatoes, carrots and leeks. With a quick spell and a swing of his wand, Newt lit the stove before ducking down and pulling out a big metal pot from somewhere beneath the kitchen counter. Newt filled it with water and set it on the stove top to boil, then threw in the potato and carrot dice along with the leek, a few bush beans, soaked white beans, a cut tomato and a strip of bacon. He put in some finishing spices before he went upstairs to wash up and get changed into something nicer than his dirtied work clothes.

About half an hour later, two distinct pops of apparition could be heard as the older Scamander and his American colleague appeared by the front entrance of the cottage. After knocking on the front door, Theseus let the both of them inside.

“We’re here!” Theseus shouted up the stairs, announcing their arrival. The two men went ahead and took off their coats and scarfs. They heard some banging coming from upstairs and Newt clambered down the stairs a minute later.

“Hey, there you are, Newt!” Theseus exclaimed when his younger brother came to a stop before him. The auror gave Newt a firm pat on the shoulder before he turned around to his colleague. “Allow me to introduce Percival Graves. Percival, this is my younger brother Newton.”

“Hello Mr. Scamander, it’s very nice to meet you,” the American said, holding out his hand to Newt. The magizoologist hesitated a second before he shook the offered hand, but he was glad to have an excuse to escape the grip his brother had on his shoulder.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Newt mumbled in reply. He was quick to drop the American’s hand and didn’t manage to look anywhere higher up than the other’s chin.

“I wanted to thank you in person for the help you’ve been in revealing and apprehending that bastard who locked me up in my own basement for 2 months,” Percival continued undeterred, since he had been somewhat informed about the magizoologist’s odd behaviour before coming here.

“Oh, I…I didn’t really do much…It was more of a coincidence I’ve even been there…,” Newt stuttered out, cheeks colouring lightly in embarrassment.

“Nevertheless, you’ve helped a lot and for that I’m grateful. I’d also like to thank you for receiving us in your home and letting us stay the night,” Percival said before he handed over the bottle of expensive wine he had brought as a gift for the younger Scamander.

“Oh, thank you…you didn’t have to!” Newt thanked as he awkwardly held onto the bottle, still avoiding the American’s eyes.

Theseus’ younger brother really wasn’t what Percival had expected. He had imagined the magizoologist to be a bit more alike to the older Scamander. Even though Percival had been told about the man by his aurors after he had returned to work, he didn’t picture Newton to be quite that… strange. The younger man’s timid behaviour and strict avoidance of eye contact had the American auror somewhat perplexed. Percival had thought that someone who dared to stand up to a dark lord would be a bit more confident in himself.

While the American had been busy exchanging pleasantries with Newt, Theseus had gone ahead and went into the kitchen. When he saw the bare table, he was quick to correct Newt’s oversight by setting the table himself. Newt and Percival joined him a minute later, the former going over to the pot on the stove and the latter taking a seat on the offered chair at the kitchen table. After Percival had sat down, Theseus noticed the colourful bird peeking around the corner, looking curios of the new persons in the cottage.

“Newt, what did I tell you about keeping beasts inside the house?” Theseus chided his younger brother who seemed to shrink into himself a bit at Theseus’ exasperated tone of voice.

“I…Sorry! I just got her…and…and she was injured and I had to look out for her,” Newt stuttered out.

“Couldn’t you keep it outside while you have guests over?” Theseus asked in a low voice after he had come over to Newt under the excuse of peering into the pot.

“Sorry…I’ll put her into her nest in the living room. She’s really quiet… You won’t nice her, I promise!” Newt mumbled before he quickly dashed out of the kitchen.

Newt gently took Theo into his arms before carrying her to the pillow nest he had created for her on the small cabinet in the living room. When Newt came back into the kitchen, Theseus had already set the pot on the table and was filing Percival’s and his’ plates. Newt quickly took a seat, got some stew for himself and they started to eat.

Theseus was happily conversing with his colleague about all kind of things, mostly work. Newt simply concentrated on eating his stew, while his guests exchanged opinions on their favourite wines and whether American or Irish whiskey tasted better. In the middle of the aurors' conversation, Theseus briefly turned to Newt once, commenting that he couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten such a simple, meatless meal and that it was a change from his usual palette. Newt, knowing his brother well, had picked up on the veiled disapproval in Theseus’ comment. The magizoologist hunched over slightly, hoping for their dinner to be over soon.

Half an hour later, their plates and glasses were emptied, about half the pot of stew still remaining. Newt was eager to volunteer to clean up the table, since he was glad to have something to do and to escape the boring conversation. Newt took out his wand and floated the dishes, glasses and cutlery over to the sink where he got started on washing and drying them.

The American auror excused himself from his conversation with Theseus and brought over the still half full pot and put it away in the icebox. Theseus stood up as well and stepped over to stand beside his colleague.

“I’m tired and I’m sure Percival is too,” Theseus spoke up towards Newt. Percival gave a nod, confirming Theseus’ claim applied to him as well.

“Therefore we would like to retire for the night,” Theseus continued, “So, thanks for dinner and see you tomorrow, ok?”

“Um…you’re welcome and please go ahead,” Newt stammered out, half turning towards the two men and shortly pausing in his dish washing. “And have a good night!”

The two aurors bid their host a good night as well before Theseus led them upstairs to the guest room. Sighing, Newt finally felt himself relax a bit as he finished clearing the table. He was glad the evening with his guests was over so relatively quick. He had to admit he was looking forward to having the house to himself again.

Preparing himself a cup of honey bush tea, Newt went over into the living room to his comfortable armchair by the fireplace. He sat down and took Theo into his lap, giving her some scratches and listening to her content clucking. Enjoying the tranquil silence once again reigning inside the cottage, the young magizoologist went over his plans for tomorrow. He thought on which of his darlings needed their physical therapy and with whom he needed to spend some more time playing and socialising. When he had finished his tea, Newt felt drowsy enough for sleeping, so he sat Theo back in her nest. After restacking the fire to keep it burning throughout the night, Newt went to bed as well.

~~~

The next morning, Newt was awoken around sunrise by loud talking and banging coming from his kitchen. He threw on some clothes and hurried downstairs since his guests seemed to have gotten up already. When Newt got downstairs, his brother was standing at the stove and was frying some eggs and bacon for breakfast.

“Ah, Newt, nice of you to join us!” Theseus greeted without turning around.

“Good morning,” Newt mumbled in response.

Mr. Graves was sitting at the table, drinking from a half empty mug of coffee as he looked through this morning’s newspaper. The American greeted Newt as well while he refilled his mug from the pot of coffee sitting on the table. Theseus flipped the bacon over one last time before serving each of them a plate. Newt quickly prepared himself some tea, declining Mr. Graves’ offer of coffee.

Theseus and Percival ate their breakfast with gusto while Newt was mostly pocking around his plate, only eating some of the eggs. The magizoologist preferred sweet things for breakfast, something light rather than hearty. Also, Newt preferred to eat mostly vegetarian.

“Thee?” Newt spoke up a few minutes later. “Would you like the rest of my bacon? I think I’m full.”

“Really? Already? You need to eat more, Newt!” Theseus said as he reached over and took Newt’s plate. “How are you ever going to grow big and strong if you don’t clear your plate?”

Newt shrugged and gave an awkward chuckle in response.

“Oh look, it’s already half past eight!” the older Scamander noted once he had finished off Newt’s bacon. “We better get going then, Percival!”

“Yeah, you're right. We wouldn’t want to be late just because we didn’t plan in enough time for the pesky customs,” Percival replied before getting up and putting away their dirty breakfast dishes and utensils. “So, I’m afraid we have to leave already,” the American continued, turning back towards Newt. “It was a pleasure meeting you! Thank you again for what you’ve done for me. I mean both for that business in New York and for receiving us here.”

“No problem…and it was nice meeting you, too,” Newt mumbled, a shy smile on his lips.

The two aurors went into the hall and put on their coats and scarves.

“So, ‘till Sunday then, little bro!” the older Scamander exclaimed cheerfully before putting an arm around his younger brother. After releasing Newt from the brief hug, Theseus picked up his travel bag and opened the front door.

“See you Sunday and have a nice weekend, Mr. Scamander,” the American wished. He shook the magizoologist’s hand before following his colleague outside.

“Yeah, see you…” was all Newt managed to get out before he gave the two aurors a wave as they apparated away.

Sighing in relief to escape the stilted social interaction, Newt turned back inside and closed the front door. He fixed himself another cup of tea and picked up Theo before he went out the back door and down the stairs toward the basement where his darlings where kept. He hoped he could still give Bunty a hand in this morning’s feeding round before they’d get started on their ward round and the physical therapy.

**~~~**

In the meantime, the two voyeurs in the tree across the road rubbed their hands in anticipation. They had agreed to put their plan into action this evening. They would wait until nightfall to strike, wanting to get Newt before he’d go down into the basement to feed his beasts for the third and last time this day.

When the two watchers had snooped around the cottage a few days earlier, they had discovered that the basement was rather seriously warded, both against intruders and escapees. So the two Mafiosi had decided they’d get the magizoologist while he was inside his in comparison neglectfully warded cottage.

Before they both apparated away to get ready for later, the older Mafioso brother quickly removed the listening spell he had cast on the pebble in the flowerpot by the living room window. After all, they wanted to leave no evidence behind that might give them away at the last second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh, shit’s about to go down!  
> Stay tuned for next chapter to find out how the Mafiosi’s plan will play out and what part the dark lord is going to play in it. Let me reveal this: Things are finally going to really pick up from the next chapter onwards and you can look forward to many more interactions between Gellert and Newt.  
> I’ll also post the next chapter very soon, since this one has been the shortest chapter of this fic and was more a chapter that I felt was needed to give more depth to the plot that’ll follow after it.
> 
> For the interested reader I’d like to point out the following piece of music: Ben Howard - In Dreams [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLs0Qixu9-k)
> 
> If you want to, you can find me on tumblr [here](https://motorradfahrerin.tumblr.com)


	4. Stop that train!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to everyone who has read this fic; I really didn't think it'd get such a big audience!  
> And now, on with the story…

It was slowly getting dark that same Friday evening in the English countryside. The two Mafiosi had returned to their lookout shortly before the magizoologist’s assistant had left. That had been about 2 hours ago, with Newt staying in the basement to finish taking care of his beasts.

When Newt finally re-emerged from the basement, he carried Theo along, even though she technically could stay inside the basement with his other diricawls by now. Yet, knowing Theo would be eager to meet Gellert again, he brought her with so she could wait for their visitor inside the cottage. Newt set her down on the ground when he entered the hall through the back door.

Theo’s leg was healing nicely and she could cautiously walk on it again. However, it would still take a few weeks and a bit more physical therapy for her limp to go away. Theo’s magic was slowly filling in as well, now that it wasn’t blocked by that ring that had been around her leg anymore. Currently, Theo could only manage a few apparations a day before she was exhausted, but Newt was optimistic that that would change after she had had more time to recuperate.  

After clucking at Newt happily, Theo waddled off into the living room. She came to a stop before the low cabinet on which her pillow nest sat. Tilting her head to the side she quickly came up with a solution to her problem and managed to hop into her nest, assisted by a few quick beats of her wings.

Newt smiled at her before he went into the kitchen. He took the pot of stew from yesterday out of the icebox and set it on the stove to reheat. Newt knew that the stew would taste even better today, for the spices had had even more time now to steep and give off their aroma.

When Newt glance at the clock, he noted that it was shortly after 6 p.m. already. Newt hadn’t even changed yet, but since he craved some lime tree blossom tea, he went ahead and prepared a teapot of it. Newt set down two teacups on their matching saucers and was just pouring tea into one of the cups, when he heard a floorboard creak behind him. Startling and whirling around with the teapot still in hand, Newt was relieved when he only saw his german friend standing by the entrance to the kitchen.

The magizoologist only noticed belatedly that some of the hot tea had spilled out of the pot and all over his shirtsleeve, when his arm started to hurt from the burn.

“Oh shit,” Newt cursed as he hurriedly set the teapot down.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry, Newt!” Gellert exclaimed as he hurriedly stepped closer to the magizoologist. “I didn’t mean to scare you! Are you alright?” Gellert asked quickly, a concerned frown on his face.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Newt replied with a sheepish smile. “I was just startled… Shouldn’t have been though, since I told you to just come inside and it’s 10 past 6…” Newt added with a self-deprecating chuckle as he unbuttoned and rolled up his shirt sleeve to inspect the reddened skin beneath.

“No! I should have said something or made some noise,” Gellert protested. “This is all on me!” He lifted his hand and indicated towards Newt's arm. “May I?”

Newt gave a nod and the dark lord took the magizoologist’s wrist carefully into one of his hands, critically inspecting the reddened skin. After humming to himself, Gellert raised his other hand and ghosted the tips of his fingers over the inside of Newt's forearm, healing the damage he had caused as his fingers went along. Gellert’s fingers came to a stop by Newt’s wrist and he released the other’s arm after making sure that everything had been healed.

Newt had been aware of the closeness of the other man the whole time Gellert had held his wrist. The dark lord’s grip had been light, Newt could have escaped it any time he wished. Curiously the magizoologist noted that he didn’t feel uncomfortably crowded or constricted like he did whenever his brother grabbed his shoulder or hugged him. The urge to escape direct contact had abated after the first few seconds of Gellert holding his wrist and Newt had felt his tensed muscles relaxing. Newt didn’t know what it said about him that he felt more comfortable being touched by Grindelwald than his own brother.

“Thanks,” Newt mumbled belatedly after Gellert had let go of his wrist. The magizoologist was still a bit caught up in his own head, pondering his strange reaction to the other man’s touch.

“No need to thank me. That was the least I could do,” Gellert replied before he took a step back. The dark lord frowned when he noticed Newt’s stained shirt. “And please let me fix your shirt, too.”

“Oh, no need! I have to get changed anyway! I was just about to go do so when you got here, in fact,” Newt said as he glanced down on his dirtied work clothes. He looked back up at Gellert's face with a shy smile. “How about you, uh… grab a cup of tea and get comfortable while I go get changed?” Newt asked before quickly stepping around the other wizard. When Newt got to the foot of the stairs, he whirled around with a sheepish smile on his face. “I’ll be back in a second!” Newt announced, before running upstairs.

“Don’t break your legs!” Gellert called after the magizoologist, slightly concerned by the speed with which the younger man raced up the stairs.

“I’ll be fine!” came the reply from somewhere upstairs.

With an amused smile on his lips, Gellert went over to the teapot on the kitchen counter and poured himself a cup after sniffing the pot and finding the tea to his liking. Gellert stashed the dessert he had brought in the icebox before he hung his coat and jacket on the coat rack in the hall. Picking up the saucer with his cup of tea on it, Gellert turned to look around Newt’s cottage some more.

Newt’s kitchen was lit by an oil lantern and a few candles, the only other light in the cottage coming from the embers in the fireplace over in the living room. Gellert noticed how all things the faint light reached were glowing with a warm yellow shine while everything else was cast into deep shadows. The cottage was cosy with its small rooms, low ceiling and slightly crocked walls that were typical for a small farm house this old. It reminded the dark lord of the timbered houses in the old town part of Nuremberg. He used to visit that town a few times a year when he had been younger, especially in the winter in the time of the Christmas market.

The dark lord was jolted out of his musings when he stepped into the living room where he was immediately assaulted by a colourful whirlwind of feathers.

“Oh, hello, my dear!” Gellert exclaimed, as he caught Theo with his free arm. “I have missed you too!” the dark lord said, smiling fondly down at the excited diricawl in his arm. Taking Theo with him, Gellert went and sat down in the inviting armchair beside the fireplace and put her in his lap. After setting his tea down on the handy ledge of the cabinet behind him, Gellert used his now freed hands to pet Theo.

“Have you been a good girl? Yeah?” he asked the diricawl. She wriggled excitedly in answer. “Well, I never doubted it,” Gellert confided.

After petting the hyper chick in his lap for a few minutes, the dark lord managed to calm her back down to a more normal level of excitement. Gellert leaned back and sank deeper into the armchair before he unbuttoned his tight vest. Doing the same to the buttons on his shirt sleeves, Gellert peered into the fireplace. He tiredly watched the dying embers while continuing to pet the cuddly chick in his lap.

“Those meetings today were a bit more exhausting than I’d have thought…” Gellert murmured towards Theo. He carded his fingers through his hair, dishevelling his signature hairstyle and letting his blond strands fall more naturally.

As Gellert grabbed his teacup and took a sip, he heard a faint creaking coming from the hall. Fully alert in an instant, the dark lord saw faint moonlight falling into the hall through the opened front door. It was followed by barely heard footsteps entering the cottage before the front door was closed again. Two shadowy figures creeped forward and directly over to the foot of the stairs. In the dim light it was hard to make out more than that they were male and dark haired.

Gellert decided to wait and see what they’d do since they didn’t seem to have noticed him watching from the shadows. He slowly petted Theo, who had gone still as he had tensed up, urging her to remain silent. She seemed to be sensing something wasn’t right and stayed motionless. With a flick of his finger, Gellert cast a sound enhancing spell toward the two intruders, his spell piercing through their muffling charm with ease.

“He’s still upstairs, don’t worry,” the slighter of the two intruders, who seemed younger and more nervous than the other man, whispered to the broader one.

“Yeah, yeah! Now lay down the trapping spell, and pronto!” the broader man whispered back angrily, a noticeable accent to his words. “You should be glad that little wimp is so clumsy and takes forever to get changed or he would have already discovered us with how long you take!” The broader man spat before he took a few steps away. Whispering over his shoulder, he added, “I’m gonna check the kitchen and behind the stairs for a good hiding place.”

As the broader man stepped into the somewhat brighter light inside the kitchen, the dark lord could make out more about him. The man had lightly tanned skin, dark eyes and wore dark clothes paired with shiny and pointy black shoes and an eccentrically coloured belt. Gellert couldn’t tell which animal’s hide that hideous belt was made of and frankly he didn’t want to know.

So going by the accent, tanned skin and atrociously flashy fashion sense, Gellert concluded that the intruders were likely Italian. But what did they want from Newt? Why did they break into his house to lay a trap?

Knowing they would likely start to talk like the slimy gangsters they were once they had Newt, Gellert decided to stay seated. The dark lord watched the spell work the slighter man laid at the foot of the stairs very closely. He identified it as a harmless trapping spell overlaid with an immobilising one that would keep their victim from moving anything but their mouth and eyes.

Gellert was conflicted whether he should intervene now to spare Newt the scare and fright he would surely feel when he’d step into that trap. On the other hand that might give the two intruders a chance to get away without Gellert ever knowing who they were or what they had wanted from Newt. The dark lord couldn’t bare it, if there was an unknown threat hanging over Newt because of him. If those two would somehow manage to get away before he could thoroughly interrogate them, Gellert couldn’t ever forgive himself if they’d came back another time and succeeded in hurting Newt. Praying the magizoologist would forgive him for his decision, the dark lord remained where he was and waited patiently for the right moment to strike.

A minute after the broader intruder had wandered off, he came back from his inspection of the kitchen. He went to the back of the hall, toward the back door, before coming back to his accomplice’s side just as the younger man finished laying down his trap.

“Under the stairs looks good. Nice and dark there. He won’t notice us,” the older told the younger intruder before they both went toward the back of the hall, leaving Gellert’s field of vision.

Not a minute later, a door that was hurriedly thrown open could be heard banging against an upstairs wall. The noise was quickly followed by hurried footsteps coming down the stairs.

“I’m done…” was all Newt could call out before he reached the foot of the stairs and the intruder’s trap sprang up around him.

“Ha-ha! Yes!” one of the intruders exclaimed gleefully before they both skipped around to the front of the stairs. They came to a stop before Newt and gloated at him arrogantly.

“We’ve got you now!” the smaller one exclaimed as Newt looked around wildly, his eyes wide.

“Wh…What…Who are you?” the magizoologist croaked out through his throat that was held motionless by their spell.

“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?” the older man taunted. “Well, I’ll be nice and tell you! I’m Ermanno and this is my younger brother Severino,” the Mafioso said, grinning in false cheer as he gestured to his brother.

“Yeah, and we’re going to have a bit of fun with you, Mr. Scamander the younger,” Severino added, a malicious smile pulling up his lips.

“What…What do you mean?” the frightened magizoologist stuttered. “I don’t even know you.”

“Oh, no you wouldn’t. But that bastard that is your brother certainly does,” Ermanno said as he came a step closer.  “You see, your brother…He took something from us. So, now it is only fair if we take something from him in return.”

Caught up in their taunting, the men didn’t notice the slightly darker figure in the deep black shadows in the living room. It moved silently, setting something aside on the pillows on the low cabinet.

“What… are you talking about?” Newt asked.

“Do you remember the sad story your brother told you last week about that auror he had lost in a raid?” Ermanno said. As he saw the dawning realisation in the magizoologist’s eyes, he continued, “Ah, I see you seem to remember! Good! Maybe your brain is slightly more useful than a soggy teabag after all,” Ermanno jested much to his brother’s amusement. “So yes! It was us that killed that auror. I couldn’t care less though. But you see…,” Ermanno went on, his voice becoming more and more acidic. “What I care about is that that bastard head auror Scamander is responsible for the death of our oldest brother!”

“I…I’m sure Thee didn’t mean to… he wouldn’t…”

“I don’t care for your opinion!” Severino spat hatefully towards the magizoologist, cutting Newt’s words off. “My brother is dead and we’ll make sure your ‘Thee’ pays for what he has done!”

“Can’t we talk about this? I’m sure there’s no need for… this…,” Newt muttered, weakly trying to talk himself out of this situation.

“Oh, no. But this is needed! What better way to pay head auror Scamander back, than to horribly murder his little bitch of a younger brother? And then afterwards we’ll be sending him your remains piece by piece in the mail!” Ermanno spat, grinning evilly as he poked the magizoologist in the chest. “But, we’re going to have a bit of fun with you first! It wouldn’t do to just kill you without making you suffer and beg for your death first…” Ermanno trailed off, cackling manically.

The following silence, in which Newt didn’t seem to be able to come up with any reply, was broken by the distinct sound of a porcelain teacup being set down on a saucer. The two intruders jerked around toward where the sound had come from. The younger threw a short lasting lighting spell in that direction, while the older fired a stunning spell the same way. In the short flash of light, a man sitting in an armchair could be made out. The two intruders also saw how that man easily blocked their stun with a simple gesture of his hand before the living room fell dark again.

The two brothers were shocked, since they had made sure the magizoologist had been alone before they had apparated down from their tree a few minutes ago. They had even observed the magizoologist in the kitchen when he had prepared a pot of tea before spilling it all over himself. They had had to suppress a snicker at the redhead’s clumsiness, but had stayed ducked down behind a rose bush in the front garden. They heard the magizoologist saying something, probably cursing himself, before he had raced up the stairs to get changed like he usually did in the evening. That’s when the two Mafiosi had seen their chance and decided to go in.

In the short second the two Italians had hesitated, the formerly hidden man had gotten up and had stepped forward. Coming to a stop under the archway connecting the hall to the living room, Gellert was still shrouded in shadows since the low light spilling into the hall from the kitchen did little to illuminate his face. His sole focus seemed to be laying on the trapped magizoologist.

The two brothers where slightly unsure how to continue, now that their plan had been messed up by that stranger. Obviously that man was a powerful wizard going by how easily he had blocked their stun. And without a wand at that!

Taking the initiative, Ermanno gestured at the strange man casually dressed in just a white shirt with an opened vest hanging from his shoulders. “And now who the fuck are you?!” he shouted toward the man.

When the stranger didn’t react, he added a second later, “You creep, lurking in the shadows! Are you his secret admirer? Or even better! You’re his secret boyfriend, aren’t you?!” Ermanno exclaimed while pointing at the dark lord who still didn’t react to his provocations.

“Seems like the basement isn’t to only thing containing fairies in this house!” Severino added, snickering like a hyena. That finally seemed to get a reaction from the stranger as he finally turned toward them.

“It does not matter who I am,” the dark lord said with an eerie calmness in his voice that made his words sound jarring in a situation as tense as this one. “However, I would ask you two to kindly shut up now, please,” he continued in an impeccably polite tone of voice. “And while you are at it; Please, do refrain from casting any further useless spells.”

Enraged by the stranger’s words, the two brothers gave each other a short glance that confirmed that they had both decided they’d just kill the stranger. So, as soon as the man was done talking, Severino fired a hex at the still trapped magizoologist as a distraction, while his brother threw a killing curse at the stranger.

In the blink of an eye Gellert reacted though. He raised a powerful shield in front of the magizoologist that didn’t just deflect the intruder’s hex, but completely absorbed it instead. Simultaneously Gellert muttered something intelligible under his breath that made the green light of the killing curse halt about a meter in front of him before it dissipated into nothingness.

The two brothers had never seen anything like this happening and stood still in shocked silence. The stranger took a step into the hall, now standing between them and the magizoologist. He broke the spells holding the magizoologist trapped without turning around while he glared at the two intruders.

“Now, that was quite rude…” Gellert commented. The light from the kitchen fell onto him, now that he had stepped into the hall. Still, the two brothers nearly wouldn’t have recognised the dark lord if it hadn’t been for his unique mismatched eyes.

The two Mafiosi tripped over each other as they tried to get away from the man that had revealed himself to be the darkest lord of their time. The magizoologist meanwhile seemed to have overcome the shock of being trapped after he had taken a few deep breathes.

“Theo!” the younger Scamander exclaimed, to which Gellert just waved as a go ahead. Newt dashed around the dark lord, seemingly not concerned by his presence, and disappeared into the living room.

The two Mafiosi on the other hand were shaking in their boots where they had fallen down onto the ground right in front of the front door. They knew that they were in over their heads and must have missed something crucial since Grindelwald was staring at them like they were prey. With a flick of his fingers, Gellert summoned his wand to himself.

Knowing they stood no chance against one of, if not the most formidable duellist there was, the two Mafiosi were desperate to make a run for their lives. The two brothers sprang to their feet and started to throw every nasty spell and hex they could think of at the dark lord. They were hoping that they’d manage to distract the dark lord long enough for them to get out of the house.

However, their assault and escape attempt was nipped in the bud before it even really began. The dark lord blocked the first spell they managed to get out before he prevented any further attacks by uttering a single, terrifying word.

“Imperio,” Gellert said quietly.

The world around the two brothers stilled immediately as they were overcome by a deep calmness that washed away all their fears and anger. Their bodies stood frozen in the same pose as when the curse had hit them, their wands still raised and pointed at the dark lord.

Gellert took a step toward them and quickly looked them over before taking their wands out of their hands and breaking them.

“Stay here,” he ordered before he turned his back to them. He let the now useless wooden sticks fall to the ground and went looking for the magizoologist.

The dark lord easily found Newt in the living room, where the magizoologist was crouching on the ground beside the bookcase in the back corner. The redhead was coaxing out Theo, who had apparently hidden herself behind the row of books on the lowest shelf. Sensing that the danger seemed to be over, the diricawl hurriedly sprang out and into Newt’s opened arms where she was comforted by his careful hands stroking down her back.

“Are you both alright?” Gellert asked softly with unguarded worry in his voice.

“Yeah we’re fine…” the magizoologist answered as Gellert came over and crouched down beside him. Now on eye level with Newt, Gellert looked him over for any injuries he might have sustained.

“You sure?” Gellert asked, a concerned frown pulling down his eyebrows. For a short moment Gellert put a nervous hand on Newt’s upper arm, unsure if it was Newt or himself he tried to comfort with the gesture.

Newt finally returned Gellert’s gaze, a small smile on his lips. “Yes, it’s ok. We’re ok,” Newt reassured in a calm tone of voice. “It’s just the scare. They really caught me by surprise,” Newt added in the same calm tone of voice he had used when he had comforted Theo. “I wasn’t really that frightened. I knew you were still here…or somewhere close by at least…and…and I don’t think you would have let them torture and murder me,” the magizoologist stammered out. He gave the dark lord a tentative smile before he peered down at the now calmed diricawl in his arms.

“Good, that’s good! I’m glad you’re fine. I was worried though,” Gellert admitted. “And I’m very sorry and I hope you can forgive me…” Gellert started, before briefly trailing off at the surprised expression hushing over Newt’s face. “But I knew they were there. I heard them when they came inside while you were upstairs. I decided to let them lay their trap, though,” the dark lord confessed. “I knew the spells they had used wouldn’t harm you. What I didn’t know was what those two wanted from you. Why they were targeting you. So, I planned to let them talk a bit before I’d intervene…I’m sorry…,” Gellert broke off. He turned his head away and hid his guilty expression, expecting Newt to get angry now and to be thrown out.

“Hey, it’s fine. You don’t have to apologize…” the redhead replied gently, instead of shouting angrily like Gellert had expected. “You came up with a much more constructive solution than I would have in a situation like that. Nobody was harmed. You stopped them before they could,” Newt reassured gently. “I would have been frightened either way by those two. And when they talked to me… I was just glad that I knew I wasn’t alone,” Newt said before he reached out a hand and laid it over Gellert’s, making the other man look back to him with an astonished expression on his face.

“I would be terrified right about now if you hadn’t been there,” Newt confessed. “If not for you plan, they might have gotten away. And they surely would have come back another time to try again. So, thank you for helping me out of this hairy situation,” Newt finished. The redhead smiled softly at the man crouching beside him, trying to lighten the sombre mood at least somewhat.

For a second, Gellert simply regarded the magizoologist with a surprised expression before he seemed to remember himself. “You really are something else, Newton…” Gellert whispered, taken aback by the younger man’s kindness.

Newt blushed at Gellert’s utterance and looked away shyly. Racking his brain for a reply and not coming up with anything useful, Newt took his hand back from where it still lay over Gellert’s.

“I’ll…ah… better go and settle Theo back into her nest,” Newt muttered as he glanced down at the drowsy diricawl in his arms. Newt gave the dark lord a bashful smile before he got up from the ground and shuffled over to the low cabinet on top of which Theo’s nest sat. Once Theo had settled in, Newt’s stomach started growling something fierce. That’s when the redhead remembered that he had skipped lunch today.

“I’m starving,” Newt stated as he turned back towards Gellert, who had gotten up as well in the meantime.

A grin hushed over the dark lord’s face before he replied, “We better go eat something then. I think the pot on the stove has heated up enough to start dinner immediately,” Gellert said, a wide smile on his lips as he gestured for Newt to lead the way into the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Puh, the danger’s been contained! But what to do with the two Mafiosi now? Well, you’re going to find out in the next chapter which will pick up right where this one has left off. 
> 
>  
> 
> While I’ve uploaded the current chap, I’ve also been thinking about fixing a schedule for when I’ll post new chapters. I have 1 chap on every Wednesday in mind, if that’d be alright? 
> 
>  
> 
> And lastly, I’d like to suggest you check out the following song: Awolnation - Stop that train [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snESCmy9B_o) (I imagine that this is the song that is playing in the two Mafiosi’s heads when Gellert finally reveals himself.)


	5. The train is coming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update schedule for this fic is now fixed for 1 chap every Wednesday!  
> This is also the second chapter with the word train in its title. You’d think trains would be at least mentioned in this fic, but they aren’t!

Newt hurriedly dashed through the hall and into the kitchen, avoiding to look at the two burglars just standing there like statues. He went directly to the stove and took out a ladle and stirred up the stew again, while his guest set the table for them. Newt took the pot and put down a coaster before he sat the pot on the table. They filled their bowls and sat down opposite to each other, beginning to eat.

“This is really good, Newton. Are those beans in there?” Gellert asked after a few bites.

“Thanks, and yeah! I put in some bush and white beans…”

“Hm, I thought so. They give it a nice Mediterranean touch together with those spices,” Gellert complimented.

“Oh, thanks, I was aiming for a stew like that!” Newts replied, his eyes crinkled in delight. “I really like that taste and it makes for a very good meal when traveling. The ingredients are cheap and easy to come by and you can store them for a long time. The stew is also quickly prepared and you can easily cook enough for it to last you 3 days,” Newt added with a grin.  

“I agree. We often had some sort of stew back in the war for those exact reasons, but I still like to eat it regularly nowadays. I can appreciate how a thick stew warms you up on a cold day- Filling your stomach yet not weighting your down.”

They had eaten a bit more than half their bowls when Gellert noticed Newt slowing down somewhat since he had apparently sated the worst of his hunger. Newt sensed the other man’s gaze and became self-conscious about how he had hunched over his bowl slightly and how fast he must have wolfed the stew down in his hunger.

“I forgot to eat lunch,” Newt tried to explain his poor table manners.

“Somehow I’m not surprised,” Gellert replied, an amused expression on his face. Gellert reached for the ladle and refilled their emptied bowls for a second time. “You have this admirable trait where you always take care and think of others first. Your own needs, however, seem to be falling by the wayside sometimes.”

“Yeah that’s me, I guess…” Newt answered with an impish grin in between taking bites of his second bowl of stew. Gellert just gave him an amused smile and a slight shake of his head in reply before they ate the rest of their stew.

“I hate to bring this up,” Gellert broke the comfortable silence when he had finished, “but what are we going to do with those two Mozzarellas over there?” He pointed in the direction of the two Mafiosi with his spoon while giving the magizoologist a questioning look.

“Don’t kill them!” Newt requested in alarm, snapping his gaze up to Gellert’s eyes.

“It wouldn’t be undeserved,” the dark lord answered in a serious tone of voice.

“Do you know who they are?” Newt asked reluctantly. Judging by the other man’s expression, Gellert likely knew more than him about those two. Newt worried whether he really wanted to know though.

“The Bonazzola family. Italian mafia,” Gellert started. He put down his spoon and moved his empty bowl aside. “The two younger brothers of the family head in fact. Seems like the rumours I heard that the family head hadbeen killed, were correct…” Gellert mused. Noticing Newt’s questioning expression, he continued. “Last week the ministry planned a raid and led the Mafiosi into a trap to get them cornered. The family head was injured in the fight and then died later apparently, while the two younger brothers managed to get away. They somehow seem to blame your brother for what had happened…”

“And what did they do, those Mafiosi, to get raided?” Newt inquired further, wanting to understand better what had happened and how that led to those two trying to kill him.

“The Bonazzolas are quite big shots. One of the more important players in England’s underworld. Their core business lies in trafficking anything you could think of. Weapons, drugs, people, potions, creatures…you name it. They will get you anything for the right price, I heard. They don’t care for anything but money. They’re ruthless in taking out rivals and expanding their territory.”

Gellert put his elbow on the table, propping his chin up with his hand. He watched Newt’s expression closely before he put his arm back down again and leaned back in his chair. “Do you remember the dozen men that were found dead and disfigured in a ditch near the Thames last year?”

Newt gave a nod. He could still recall the headlines about those horrible murders. The ministry suspected those men had been victims of a gang war, but they couldn’t find out who had killed them.

“It was them,” Gellert confirmed the younger man’s suspicions. “That’s how they deal with their rivals, how they warn off others from trying to go up against them.”

“I see…” Newt mused. His expression turned pensive as he processed the new information and pondered on what to do now.

“So, what do you think we should do with them now?” Gellert asked, interested in Newt’s views on how to deal with the two Mafiosi.

“I don’t know,” the magizoologist admitted before he looked down at the table with a conflicted expression on his face. “We can’t just kill them…that…that would be wrong! But we can’t just let them go either…” Newt said before he looked back up at Gellert’s face. “So maybe…since the aurors were targeting them anyway…We could just give them to them?”

“The aurors will bring those two to trial and they’ll get a life sentence to Azkaban. Not bad.” The dark lord tilted his head slightly to the side. “But what about their business? There’ll just be someone else to take over and continue where they’ve left off.”

“Oh, right! I didn’t think of that.” The younger man threw a contemplative gaze toward the hall before resting it back on Gellert’s face. “Maybe, we could make them tell us all their secrets before giving them to the aurors?”

“That could certainly be arranged,” Gellert assured. He smiled, put a finger to his chin and briefly looked up toward the ceiling, pretending to think something over before he glanced back at Newt out of the corner of his eyes. “But maybe that questioning will be a bit…uncomfortable…for them? …Unfortunately.”

Newt understood what the dark lord was hinting at. Yet, he felt guilty to admit even to himself that he agreed with Gellert. Those two Mafiosi were really bad people. They had hurt and killed so many others and had just gotten away with it. Well until now that was. Maybe ruffing them up a bit before sending them to the ministry wouldn’t be that reprehensible.

“Yeah…There might regretfully be no other possibility,” Newt mumbled toward the table, before biting his lower lip guiltily.

“Yes, what a shame,” the dark lord commented with a pleased grin on his lips. “Would you mind if I’d call someone over to take care of the interrogation of those two?” Gellert asked with a dismissive hand wave toward the hall. 

After Newt had responded by shaking his head, Gellert summoned a small notebook to himself from his jacket’s inside pocket. He pulled out a pen and scribbled down a few words on the notebook’s enchanted pages.

“This will alert Hermann and he’ll be here in a few minutes,” Gellert commented as the words he had written faded from the page. He closed the notebook and put it aside. “Hermann’s my head of security and right hand man. He’ll know best what to do with those two,” the dark lord reassured the younger man.

“Ok,” Newt replied quietly before they both got up and cleared the table. Gellert went to the icebox took out the dessert he had brought. Asking Newt to sit and wait while he set it up for them, the dark lord made quick work of plating their dessert. When he was done, he carried the dessert plates over to the table and set them down.

“What is it? It smells delicious!” Newt asked when Gellert had set a plate down in front of him. Newt had instantly noted the sweet smell of vanilla that had started to permeate the air.

“In Germany it’s called ‘ _Germknödel mit Vanillesoße’_ ,” Gellert explained before taking his seat as well. “It’s an Austrian-Bavarian dessert made up of a warm yeast dumpling that’s stuffed with plum jam. The dumpling gets sprinkled with poppy seeds before it’s served together with hot custard.”

“Smells fantastic!” Newt said before he picked up his cutlery and cut off a piece from the side of the soft pastry. He dipped the piece into the custard before he put it in his mouth. “Mmmh! Tastes fantastic as well. I really like it, thanks for bringing it!” Newt said, giving the other a pleased smile.

Gellert replied with a smile of his own before he dug into his dessert as well.

“When I had still been travelling, I always liked to taste some of the typical dishes from the country I was visiting,” the magizoologist reminisced. “I miss that now…” Newt trailed off before adding, ”3 or 4 years ago I had to make a quick detour from Italy across the Alps. I tried black forest cherry cake while I stayed over there for a few days. So, I get the feeling you Germans know your desserts.”

“That we do,” Gellert chuckled.

They had taken another few bites of their desserts, when a knock could be heard coming from the front door.

“It’s open! Just come in!” Newt shouted since Gellert didn’t seemed to be alarmed by the newcomer.

The newcomer swung the door open, unsuspecting of the two obstacles standing behind it. He therefore managed to forcefully ram the door’s handle into the back of the younger Mafioso, who had the misfortune to stand closest to the door. The man swayed a bit but remained standing, not making any noise.

After closing the door, a light haired, middle-aged man stepped around the Mafiosi. The man briefly looked the two frozen men over before he turned to where Newt and Gellert were sitting in the kitchen. He gave them a sheepish smile.

“Good evening, I guess. I hope I didn’t damage anything important?” the man Gellert had called asked as he came into the kitchen.

“No, no, it’s fine!” Gellert assured, casually greeting his right hand man without getting up. “Newton, this is my second in command and friend Hermann Brandt. Hermann, Newton Scamander,” Gellert introduced the two, gesturing at each of them with his hand accordingly.

Herman gave the redhead a short dip of his head. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Scamander,” Hermann greeted with a friendly smile on his lips.

Hermann had been curios to meet the man Gellert had spoken of a few times. Although his friend hadn’t said much, Hermann knew him well enough to know that if Gellert mentioned a name more than twice, then he must have some interest in that person. Hermann had thought it was because of what had happened in New York at first. That maybe Gellert wanted to get revenge. However, Hermann hadn’t picked up on any animosity in Gellert’s expression whenever he had mentioned the magizoologist.

Instead, Hermann had sensed that the dark lord seemed to have something close to curiosity or fascination for the other man. He had assumed his friend had gained a professional interest in the magizoologist, thinking that he and his beasts could be useful to their cause.

That’s why Hermann hadn’t been surprised when Gellert had left sometimes to visit that man in England. Probably to bring him some useful gifts to win him over. But now that Hermann was in the magizoologist’s house, some of his assumptions changed rather drastically.

Hermann knew how fastidious the dark lord was about his appearance, from his carefully layered clothes to his precise style of hair. That was why he was so surprised to see Gellert sitting there so relaxed and casually dressed while eating dessert with the magizoologist. He had never seen his friend this lax outside his private rooms or when there were other people around.

Hermann also noted that the magizoologist seemed equally comfortable in Gellert’s company. As he briefly studied the redhead, it came to Hermann’s attention that the messy red curls and faint freckles had a certain attractiveness to them. The magizoologist’s gentle eyes also quite suited a man dealing with dangerous animals on the regular.

That’s how it dawned Hermann, right at this moment, that Gellert might intend something a bit different than to simply recruit a new follower. Hermann was an optimistic man, but he had to admit that he had lost hope for something like this ever occurring. He had known Gellert for nearly two decades and had accepted that the other seemed to be set on remaining a grumpy loner for the rest of his life.

Therefore, Hermann had to stifle his gleeful grin at this joyful occasion happening before him right now. It looked like Gellert had somehow still picked up on Hermann’s change in mood though, going by the slight questioning frown he directed his way.  

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Brandt,” the redhead replied, making Hermann look back at him. “And please, call me Newton or Newt.”

“Thank you, Newton! But then you must call me Hermann as well, please,” Hermann said before turning towards Gellert. He addressed the dark lord more casually than he ever would when they had company. “Now what seems to be the problem, Gellert, that you have called me here to take care of? I presume it has something to do with those two?” Hermann said as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards the two Mafiosi standing behind him in the hall.

“Astute as always,” Gellert noted, regarding both the question and the mischievous glint he had seen earlier in Hermann’s eyes when the other had picked up on his relaxed demeanour around the magizoologist.

“I do intend to please, my lord,” came Hermann’s sarcastic reply. Hermann put a hand on his heart and gave a mocking bow. There was an impish smile on his lips when he stood back up, to which Gellert just snorted in answer.

Newt had taken another bite of his dessert in the meantime, curiously watching the other two men interact. Newt noticed that Gellert didn’t seem to be any bit irked by his right hand man’s slight impudence. The magizoologist was glad to note that Hermann looked like he knew he wouldn’t have to fear any repercussions from Gellert. Now, Newt didn’t know too much about how the dark lord usually interacted with his subordinates, but from what he had observed of Gellert so far, it was clear even to him that this behaviour wasn’t the norm.

“So, those two,” Hermann said, briefly nodding toward the Mafiosi, “have they been rude and came in without cleaning off their shoes?” he joked as he turned his attention back to Newt.

“Not quite…They…They trapped me and said they wanted to torture and kill me.” Newt shifted uncomfortably in his seat, before adding, “And I think they were quite serious…They tried to kill Gellert when he intervened…”

“I see.” Hermann’s face had turned grim as he had lost his humour at Newt's recount of the events that had taken place before he had arrived. Since Gellert had been the one to apprehend Newt’s would-be murderers, Hermann was surprised they were still alive though. He reasoned Gellert must have something else in mind for them in this case then.

“They’re the two youngest Bonazzola brothers,” Gellert commented.

“From that Italian mafia?”

“Exactly. Now, we’ve come to an agreement,” Gellert said as he gestured between himself and the magizoologist. “What I want you to do is interrogate them, make a list of all their important intel and then drop them off together with it in front of the ministry…alive, please.”

“Consider it done,” Hermann confirmed, pleased that alive didn’t mean unharmed.

Gellert proceeded to hand over the control of the imperius curse to his second in command.

“Now then, gentleman, I’m afraid I have to leave you already. Busy schedule, you see,” Hermann excused himself, giving the two men before him a warm smile.

“Good night! It was nice to meet you,” Newt responded with a shy smile of his own.

“ _Bis morgen_ **1** ,” came the dark lord’s nonchalant answer as he turned back to his dessert and took another bite.

Hermann gave them a wave over his shoulder as he went into the hall.

“You come with me now, you two bad boys,” Hermann said to the two Mafiosi before he opened the front door. They promptly sprang into action and followed him outside. The door fell close behind them and they apparated away.

“I think Hermann will be finished with them in few hours,” Gellert mentioned, now that he and Newt were alone again. “He’ll likely deliver them tomorrow before the first aurors arrive for their morning shift.”

“Fine by me.”

“Good,” Gellert replied.

They finished the rest of their dessert in comfortable silence.

“How did your last appeal before the ministry officials about lifting your travel ban go by the way?” the dark lord asked when Newt had finished his dessert.

“Oh, not so good…” Newt answered with a sad downturn to his mouth. “They rejected it. Again.”

“I’m sorry,” Gellert replied, genuine sympathy in his voice.

“It was already my fourth appeal and now I have to wait at least another two months before I can try again! They just don’t seem to get that I don’t want to work for them!” Newt vented his anger and frustration with the ministry.

“What were their stipulations this time?”

“They only wanted to let me travel, if I’d leave my animals behind. They also want them to be put into some kind of 'secure facility' that they’ll provide. Something less sanctuary but more laboratory, I'm sure,” Newt spat, disgust clearly audible in his tone of voice. “Why can’t they just get it that every animal, magical or non-magical alike, is not inherently dangerous? True, some might have more potential than others to be so, but that doesn’t mean they will act on it if you treat them right and respect their individual needs!” Newt broke off with an angry huff.  

“‘ _Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less_ ’,” the dark lord commented in response. “A quote I find quite fitting for these turbulent times we live in. It feels like an upheaval is due soon, but no one can tell whether old mistakes will be repeated or something altogether new will be attempted. There are many powerful people who are desperate to hold on to their old ways, shunning everyone who thinks differently. Meanwhile they’re blind to see all the wonderful new things sprouting up from the thoughts of those who dare to imagine a different way.”

“Yeah. That’s a rather good observation,” Newt agreed, before taking his wand in hand to quickly refill their emptied teacups from the teapot he had floated over. "Who did you quote by the way?” Newt asked curiously as he send the now empty teapot into the sink.

“A muggle professor called Marie Curie. She and her daughter do some fascinating research on this radioactivity thing that she had helped discover. She was the first woman and scientist to win two Nobel prices, which is still quite the brake-through for muggle society, considering her profession is dominated by sexist men. You know, they still refuse to give her a membership in the _Académie des sciences_ ,” Gellert mused.

The dark lord took a bite of his dessert and picked up his steaming teacup to softly blow on it before he continued. “I think those kind of people abhor change because it’ll mean they’ll have to hear the opinions of different-minded persons and therefore accept them as a part of our society. They fear that what they do to others today, might be done to them as well tomorrow. And yet, they stubbornly refuse to think that the outrage they claim to feel if such a scenario came to pass, might be a sure indicator that there is something wrong with the current imbalance of power and potentialities in our society,” Gellert stated.

He fixed the magizoologist with a thoughtful expression and a slight tilt to his head. “I think this assessment is correct for your ministers as well,” Gellert resumed after taking another sip from his cup, “and that is why I think a structural change in society is needed or this same pattern will just keep repeating itself again and again,” Gellert concluded his elaborations.

“Yeah you’re quiet on to something there…” Newt mumbled after a few seconds of thoughtful silence. He was a bit astonished to realize that he agreed wholly with Gellert’s observations. “…and I think you’ve ‘hit the nail on the head’, so to speak,” Newt decided to admit.

“Mhh, you sing me the highest praises,” Gellert remarked as he grinned at Newt over the rim of his teacup.  

Newt’s expression became insecure and he looked down at the table top, averting his eyes from Gellert’s. “Please…don’t mock me,” Newt requested quietly.

“I’m not,” Gellert reassured, the smile on his face tuning softer as he sensed that Newt had misunderstood his comment.

Newt lifted his gaze from his teacup and looked back over at the older man.

“I’d never do that,” the dark lord promised gently, trying to express the sincerity of his words through his eyes as well.  

“Oh…I’m sorry,” Newt mumbled. A light blush crept up on his cheeks since he felt a bit embarrassed now about his misunderstanding.

“Don’t be! I know sometimes I can be quite the _Stinckstiefel_ …” Gellert commented humorously.

“A what now?” the magizoologist asked with an inquisitive frown on his forehead.

At the German’s ensuing mental efforts to find a suitable translation, Newt’s blush was receding quickly. Rather amused, Newt noted that he liked the quirks that seemed to creep into Gellert’s speech when the German wasn’t choosing his words carefully enough.

“A surly git?” Gellert offered eventually, one of his eyebrows raised in question.

Newt raised his teacup to his lips, trying to hide his giggle at the term the dark lord had chosen to describe himself with.

“You know, you’d always be welcome to come visit me in Germany,” Gellert indiscreetly changed the topic. “That is, when you are allowed to travel again.”

“I’d like to, thanks,” Newt replied, a bit stunned by the other’s open invitation.

Gellert gave Newt a lopsided smile before he picked up the notebook he had sat aside after he had contacted Hermann. He opened it to a fresh page and wrote the single word ‘ _Newton_ ’ on it in slanted cursive. After enchanting the page with a quick spell, he ripped it out and offered it to the younger man.  

“If you ever want to come visit, just touch the ink and it will guide you to Nurmengard,” the dark lord explained as Newt reached out and took the piece of paper with a warm smile on his lips. “It’ll also allow you to pass through the wards and directly inside.”

“Ok, got it! Thank you!” Newt replied with a warm smile pulling up the corners of his mouth. Newt carefully folded the piece of paper in half before he put it away for safekeeping in the small inside pocket of his vest.

“It’s gotten dreadfully late,” Gellert noted after he had glanced at his pocket watch. “I wouldn't want to keep you.”

“You’re not!” The younger assured hastily. “Keeping me I mean.”

“Still, I don’t think your housemates will be too happy if their breakfast is late tomorrow because a certain someone decided to stay up far past midnight and therefore overslept the next morning.”

“Ok, you’ve got me there,” Newt admitted.

“I knew it,” Gellert commented cheekily before he rose from his chair. After collecting their dirty dishes und used cutlery, Gellert carried them over and put them into the sink. Newt followed closely behind him, bringing their used teacups and saucers along.

Gellert turned toward the younger man as he cast a spell that made the plates and cutlery start to rinse and dry themselves with a casual wave of his hand.

“So, thanks again for inviting me. I have to say, though… The English countryside has turned out rather a bit more exciting than I had anticipated,” the dark lord joked before he held out his hand.

“Your welcome! And yeah, the two Mafiosi were pretty far from the norm for these usually tranquil hills,” Newt replied with a sheepish smile. After shaking the other man’s hand, Newt accompanied Gellert into the hall.

The dark lord rebuttoned his vest and shirt sleeves before he put on his jacket. After shrugging on his overcoat, Gellert glanced into the living room searchingly. When he spotted that Theo was already sleeping peacefully in her pillow nest, he turned back toward Newt.

“I guess she was exhausted from all the commotion,” Gellert commented. He gave the magizoologist a last smile before he opened the front door and stepped outside.

“Get home save and have a good night!” Newt called after the other, coming to a stop inside the doorjamb.

“Thanks! You too!” Gellert replied before he took out his wand. Giving the magizoologist a slight nod, the dark lord turned and apparated away.

Newt gazed out into the still night that gave no indication of the events that had transpired this evening. Lost in his thoughts, the magizoologist listened to the chirring of the crickets for another minute before he turned back inside. Closing and locking the door, Newt activated the wards around the cottage that he had never thought would be necessary.  

Sighing, Newt carded his hand through his locks before he went back into the kitchen. On the counter he found the now clean dishes neatly stacked. After putting them away into the cupboard, he prepared himself some chamomile tea in the biggest mug he owned.

Newt knew sleep would take a while to find him this night since he had to first digest all that had happened today. His fright and shock at the sudden attack had dissipated over dinner, but even now he felt grateful that Gellert had been there with him. Newt appreciated that they had later also decided together what was to be done with the two Mafiosi. He noted he still felt a certain satisfaction that the Mafiosi would get what they deserved for the many life’s they had ruined.

The magizoologist blew out the candles scattered around the kitchen, turning off the oil lamp last. He picked up his steaming mug of tea and headed upstairs to get ready for bed.

**~~~**

 

 **1** \- Until tomorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hermann be like: Alright, gayyy… 
> 
> With this chapter the arch about the threat of the Mafiosi has come to a close. But don’t worry, new trouble will arise very soon when Newt’s adherence to the law is going to get tested further.  
> Next chapter Theseus and Percy will return from their conference and some things will come to a head between the two brothers! The motto is going to be: Things will have to get worse, before they’re going to get better. 
> 
> Meanwhile, please consider listening to this song by my all-time, absolute most favourite band, ever: Depeche Mode - Where's the revolution [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsCR05oKROA)


	6. Don't play these games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might be happy to hear that this fic has now passed the mark of 64k words after I've finalised chap 17. Also, I’ve gotten some more ideas in the meantime, which will likely result in one additional chapter!  
> I hope you’ll like today’s update!

The sun hadn’t set yet as the two aurors arrived at the magizoologist’s cottage late the following Sunday evening. Theseus went ahead and knocked on the front door and grasped the handle to open it. The door however didn’t budge when he tried to pull it open, seeming to be locked from the inside. With an annoyed huff of breath Theseus gestured for Percival to follow him to the back of the house where the entrance to Newt’s basement was. Theseus went down the first few steps and pulled on a string that he knew was connected to a bell on the other side of the cellar door.  

A few minutes later, the door opened and a dishevelled magizoologist quickly dashed up the stairs and over to where the two aurors were waiting beside the cottage’s back door.

“Hello! And sorry…I was still busy with the feeding round,” Newt greeted them with an apologetic smile as he patted off some dust from his trousers.

“No problem, we don’t plan to stay long anyway,” Theseus commented a bit tetchily.

The American, who stood behind Theseus, gave Newt a short nod in greeting. He had sensed the slight tension that seemed to linger between the two brothers.

Newt quickly disabled the wards and unlocked the back door before asking the two aurors inside. The two visitors took off their coats and set down their light travel luggage, Theseus holding today’s newspaper in his hand.

“Have you read the news?” Theseus asked when they all headed into the kitchen.

Newt shook his head in negation.

“Well, I’ve gotten quite the case yesterday! Did you know that two Mafioso brothers had been dropped at our front door? But not just that!” the older Scamander exclaimed as held up the newspaper into Newt’s face, pointing at the corresponding article on the front page. “There was a list tied to one of them and on that list was a neat itemisation of all their business locations, partners and hidey holes!”

Newt grabbed the newspaper and took a step back from his brother before he peered at the headline Thee had pointed out to him.

“Don’t you see how incredible this is?” the older Scamander exclaimed when the magizoologist’s reaction wasn’t as awed as he had expected. “My aurors have been raiding these places all night. And there was enough information on that list to keep going like this for another few days at least!” Theseus enthused. “What we still don’t know however, is who had send these two bitches to our front door. Well, someone with one hell of a bone to pick, I guess. They had been pretty roughened up, those two. Nothing that won’t heal in a few weeks, though…” Theseus trailed off. He gave a casual shrug before he went over to the cupboard and pulled out three glasses that he quickly transfigured into wine glasses.

“Anyway, I think this calls for a toast at least!” Theseus exclaimed as he pulled a bottle of Spanish wine he had brought with him out of his magically enlarged suit pocket. Theseus quickly uncorked the bottle and poured each of them a glass.

“Not that much, please! Theseus…” the American interjected when Theseus poured the wine a bit more generously than necessary. “I’ve got to get back home to New York and you are going to be on duty later!”

“Ah, come on!” Theseus placated. “Don’t be a stick-in-the-mud like my little brother here!” He replied as he threw an arm over Newt’s shoulders. After pulling Newt closer to his side, Theseus grinned mockingly down at his visibly uncomfortable brother. Newt shrunk into himself, ducking his head and awkwardly clutched the glass of wine he had been handed.

“To whomever decided to kick the Italian mafia’s asses!” Theseus toasted boisterously. He briefly held up his wine glass, then took a drink after letting go of Newt.

Percival returned his colleague’s toast and took a sip of his wine. He was slightly frowning however, a bit bewildered by Theseus’ mean behaviour towards his brother. The American had noted how the younger man had immediately backed away from Theseus once he had been released and that the shy redhead was keeping his gaze down even more now than he had before.

Newt retreated a few steps and set his wine glass down on the kitchen counter behind him. He clutched the newspaper with both hands as he stared down at it. Percival wasn’t sure if Newt was really reading it though. The American was pulled out of his musings when Theseus touched his arm and guided him over to the table.

The two aurors sat down and Percival let Theseus keep talking while they sipped at their wine. A minute later, the aurors both noticed the same rainbow-coloured bird from their last visit. It was curiously taking a peek at them from where it was half hidden behind the hallway corner.

“Newt! Seriously?!” Theseus exclaimed as he turned to throw his brother an exasperated look. “What’s it still doing inside?”

The magizoologist flinched at his brother’s tone of voice and didn’t manage to get out any words.

“Where did you even get it from?” Theseus demanded to know when he sensed his previous question would go unanswered.

The magizoologist still seemed frozen, not reacting to the second question that had been thrown his way.

“Newton!” the British auror called sharply.

That finally got a reaction from the younger redhead. “A…A friend send her to me…” Newt stuttered out quietly.

“You, a friend?! How come?” Theseus scoffed before he dug deeper. “Who is this friend of yours?”

“I…um…When I was travelling…the mooncalves got sick once…and I needed these herbs for their potion. This Austrian man…’Gilbert’…He helped me get them,” Newt answered haltingly, since he didn’t just have to deal with his anxiety, but had to invent some lie about how he got Theo at the same time.

Theseus gestured for his brother to keep going.

“We’ve stayed in contact a bit. And last week…He asked me if I could help an abused diricawl,” Newt added.

Theseus contemplated his brother’s words and seemed to be satisfied enough to end his interrogation, for now. Theseus turned back to his wine and engaged his American colleague in a debate about something that was said at the security conference they’d just been to.

Newt remained standing by the kitchen counter, his hands trembling lightly where they still clutched the now faintly crinkled newspaper. Glad to have escaped his brother’s scrutiny, even if only for a moment, Newt could only now focus on the printed words he had kept staring at. The headline of the two Mafiosi’s arrest wasn’t what caught the magizoologist’s eye however.

There, at the very bottom of the front page, Newt had spied a short article about some increasing unrest brewing in a few Eastern European countries. The article mentioned that there were some still officially unconfirmed reports that a group of Ukrainian extremists planned to attack their neighbours. Some witnesses were cited that claimed to have seen dragons leaving Pripyat’s national resort for endangered magical creatures.

Newt gasped in horror and put a hand over his mouth. He prayed this wasn’t true, because he knew what that would mean! Innocent creatures would likely be misused again as weapons to fight greedy men’s wars! It had happen before and Newt had been there at the dragon camps in the last war. He had seen the horrible injuries the dragons had sustained when they had returned from the front lines.

When that war had been over, the ministry had ordered that the adult dragons, deranged by the cruelties the humans and the war had done to them, were to be euthanized. The younger ones were to be put in the newly founded creature resort in Pripyat, Ukraine.

“What is it?” Theseus asked, interrupting his conversation with the American auror.

“That…That article,” Newt said as he pointed at it. “It says that there is some unrest in Ukraine and that dragons are being taken from the Pripyat resort!”

“And?” Theseus asked indifferently, urging his younger brother to get to the point.

“They are going to use them to fight a war again!” the magizoologist stated, still appalled by the news. “I’ve…I have to go and help them!”

“You seemed to forget that you’re still banned from travelling outside England,” Theseus reminded sharply.

“But don’t you see…” Newt pleaded for his older brother to understand, shortly glancing up at Theseus with a distressed expression.

“What I see, is you staying in England until you get the licenses for your beasts straight so that the ministry might someday repeal your traveling ban!” the British auror reprimanded with a stern expression.

“But that’ll take at least another two months…” the younger man mumbled worriedly.

Theseus emptied his wine glass in one last big gulp and stood up.

“It’s late, I think we ought to leave now. I have to get back to more pressing business and Percival is surely eager to return home as well,” Theseus declared, grinning at his colleague and picking up Percival’s empty wine glass as well. “Just go ahead, Percival, and grab your travel bag, I’ll be right behind you!” Theseus called cheerfully over his shoulder as he carried their wine glasses over to the sink.

Percival got up and hesitated for a second, but in the end decided not to get involved in something that probably was none of his business and walked away into the hall.

Theseus cheery face dropped as soon as Percival had turned his back to the two brothers. The auror glared angrily at his younger brother as he stepped beside him and set the wine glasses down in the sink.

Newt, who had still been a bit preoccupied with his own shock at the distressing news, finally peered up at Theseus. However, the second he registered his brother’s expression he shied away from him and bumped into the kitchen counter behind him.

“Are you really that naïve to think the ministry will ever let you leave with your horde of mad beasts? -After what has happened in New York?” Theseus hissed as he grabbed Newt’s arm to stop the other from turning away.

Newt looked back at his brother with wide eyes that began tearing up.

“I’ve been way to lax with you since our parents died!” Theseus spat, letting go of Newt’s arm now that he had his attention. “But be assured that that is going to change from now on!” the auror promised insistently, unheeded by the tears that were now rolling down Newt’s cheek.

Theseus threw a glance over his shoulder toward the hall, ignoring the now faintly shaking magizoologist who had retreated another step. Newt had to stop after another step backwards since he had backed himself into the corner between the kitchen counter and wall. Trying to hide the tears that were following after the first ones, Newt turned his side to Theseus and hunched over.

“We’ll be having words about this,” Theseus hissed before he turned on his heel and followed his American colleague out into the hall.

“Sorry for the wait, Percival! We better get going then! Please excuse my brother’s rudeness, he can’t come to tell us goodbye,” Theseus cheerfully told the other auror as he herded him out through the front door.

“Sometimes he just gets into these…strange moods where he stops talking…” was all Newt could make out before his brother slammed to door closed behind himself and the two aurors apparated away a few seconds later.

Now that he was alone, the magizoologist couldn’t hold back the sobs that had threatened to escape ever since Theseus had come over to hiss at him. Newt covered his face with his hands, hiding it and trying to stem his tears as he struggled to control his breathing.

Sniffing and with a hitch in his breath he hurried into the living room, where Theo worriedly clucked at him from her nest. He went over to her and carefully picked her up, cradling her into his arms before he sank to the floor right where he had been standing. Fresh tears rolled down his face before he buried it in the diricawl’s soft feathers. He petted and nuzzled her, his short-winded breathing slowly easing after a few minutes.

“Sorry, sorry…I’m getting your feathers all wet,” Newt rasped out with a wobbly smile when he felt like he had gained back some control over his emotions.  

Theo didn’t seem to mind as she nuzzled him with her head and pressed herself closer to him.  

“Oh my lovely girl…Even after everything you’ve been through you’re still so kind,” the magizoologist mumbled as he used his shirtsleeve to wipe the tears and snot from his face. “Thank you so much…You are such a good girl, you know that? You really are.”

He snuggled with her for another few minutes before he kissed her on the head and shakily got back on his feet again. “Would you like to come with me? I’m going upstairs and you could stay in my room and we can keep each other company. What do you think?”

Since the young diricawl didn’t offer any protests, Newt kept her in his arms and went upstairs into his bedroom. He shifted her weight onto one arm and used the other one to make her a small nest from the duvet on his bed. He had to wipe away another few tears that had escaped him before he gently set Theo down in her new nest.

“Good girl, you can stay here,” the magizoologist said, giving her a scratch to the head. “I’ve got to get changed. My clothes aren’t just dusty and smell faintly of dung heap…Now my shirt’s all wet and snotty, too!” he joked weakly, gesturing at his dishevelled clothes.  

Newt went over to his dresser and pulled out a fresh shirt, socks and underwear before he went to his wardrobe to get some trousers. As he looked inside, in search for one of the more comfortable pairs he owned, his gaze fell on his battered suitcase sitting in the back of the wardrobe.

Standing frozen for a few seconds, Newt contemplated a foolish idea that had sprung into his head the second he had caught sight of the suitcase’s worn brown leather. Slowly, hesitatingly, he reached out his hand and grasped its handle before pulling it out into the light of his bedroom.

“How about I show you something new?” Newt addressed Theo as he kneeled down on the ground. He stroked his hand over the battered and marred leather of his suitcase that spoke of the many adventures it had been through. “I think you’re going to like it. It’s a whole set of new enclosures for you to explore.”

Theo started chirping excitedly, always curious to see and learn more. She got up from the nest, hopped down to the ground and went over to Newt who had opened the case’s lid in the meantime. He picked up Theo and carried her down the ladder and into the suitcase. Once inside, Newt showed her around the expansive habitats that still looked the same as when they had been inhabited. Only the animals and some food stock were missing, otherwise the suitcase was theoretically ready for immediate departure.

Newt’s shaky grip on his composure became more and more sure as he looked around at all the things testifying his yearlong work and hard-won achievements. With every step he took, his feelings turned from sadness and melancholia towards something closer to anger and frustration.

He had written his book to educate people and to spread awareness that what many thought they knew of magical creatures, did originate more from superstition than fact. But even now, Newt felt like nothing much had changed as evidenced by the ministry’s ongoing distrust in his capabilities. If his brother’s words were to be trusted, then there’ll never be a shift in the way they’ll regard him and his life’s work. He felt like he was just treading water, walking in circles. His advice made fun of and carelessly discarded without even giving it a try.

Maybe that was why it wasn’t that hard for him to make up his mind on how to continue from here on. For his whole life Newt had strived to play by the established rules and now look where it had gotten him! Maybe stepping outside of the lines would be the only possibility for change to come, he thought as he climbed back out of his case and took it with him into his basement.

 

**_~~~ That same evening, somewhere in the German-Austrian Alps ~~~_ **

 

“Yes, I’ll relay the information to the other branches before I go home,” Hermann assured the dark lord as they went up the staircase leading to the private upper floors of Nurmengard castle. They were on their way to Gellert’s office to finish up on the papers resulting from today’s strategy meeting.

“Good,” Gellert replied as they stepped past the two night guards keeping watch on the landing. The guards went ignored as the two men made their way further up.

“You know; Gerda participates in the theatre show her school holds tomorrow. She plays second lead,” Hermann mentioned, proud of his older daughter’s acting talents. “Your welcome to come, if you want to,” he invited his boss, turning towards him with an eyebrow raised in question.

“Thanks, but I already have other things planned,” Gellert declined as they reached the corridor at the top of the stairs and turned right.

“Oh yeah… I forgot! The rainy weather tomorrow is going to make for an ideal day to spent brooding inside one’s isolated mountain retreat,” Hermann commented as he held the office door open for Gellert.

The two guards that had listened to their exchange couldn’t hear the dark lord’s reply to that jab before the office door was closed. The staircase and corridor fell silent again, the shuffling as the two guards took on a more relaxed position the only disturbance in the quiet.

The two guards were still green behind the ears due to their young age and subsequent lack of much experience. However, they felt honoured to be trusted and found capable enough to handle the night shift guarding the stairway to the dark lord’s private floors. After all, not many were allowed that close to the enigmatic man whose vision they were all supporting.

The dark lord’s head of security, Commander Hermann Brandt, was a bit better known to them though, since he was a much valued instructor amongst the recruits. He was approachable and jovial, always happy to share his experiences with his students and to answer their questions. He helped them when they had problems with a new spell or exercise, but in return he expected each one of them to make an effort and work hard to steadily improve themselves.

The two guards had both zoned out a bit when about 45 minutes later the quiet click of the dark lord’s office door being opened could be heard.

“So should I go ahead and start consulting a wedding planner?” Hermann’s teasing voice could be heard, since he had probably stepped out first.

“If you do, I’ll tell Gerda how you really got that scar on your arm,” the dark lord replied dryly.

“You wouldn’t!” Hermann exclaimed in outrage and his footsteps came to a stop at the transition from the corridor to the open of the stairwell.

“You sure?” The dark lord looked challengingly at Hermann, a smug grin pulling up one corner of his mouth.

“ _Ja verdammt!_ **1** You swore you wouldn’t tell anyone!” Hermann hissed sulkily as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Alright,” Gellert held up a placating hand, “but I can’t guaranty you that my mind won’t just blank out and forget this conversation ever happened next time you get cheeky with me.”

Hermann just stuck out his tongue at the other.

“Very mature,” the dark lord commented as he stepped around his right hand man. “Take the day off tomorrow,” he added as he handed Hermann a small stack of important looking folders.

“I could bloody kiss you right now!” Hermann exclaimed happily as he tucked the folders under his arm.

“Please, what would your wife think?” Gellert shot back, before starting to head towards the spiral staircase at the other end of the corridor that led up to his private tower.

“Oh, she wouldn’t mind if she’d get to watch,” Hermann instantly countered with a shit eating grin on his face.

The dark lord’s steps faltered. He stopped and turned to look back at Hermann with a concerned frown on his face.

“…But I don’t think you’d let me anyway,” Herman continued. He grabbed hold of a strand of his light brown hair and pulled it forward toward his eyes. “Not red enough,” Hermann remarked teasingly.

Gellert’s frown morphed into a glare before he instantly schooled his face into a more neutral expression. Meanwhile Hermann was celebrating internally, since he had for once managed to throw the other for a loop!

“Good night!” Gellert ordered sternly before turning and striding away.

Snickering slightly under his breath, Hermann watched him go before taking the last step toward the main staircase and heading downstairs.

“Good night,” the Commander called towards the two guards keeping watch on the landing that marked the passage from the public to the private castle floors.

“Good night, sir,” they replied simultaneously as they both clicked their heels together and stood at attention. They held their positions until Hermann got to the foot of the stairs and turned the next corner.

“What do you think he meant with that, Heinz?” the younger and taller guard addressed his smaller yet burlier colleague.

“Who and about what?” Heinz replied gruffly, annoyed by the others generally more talkative disposition.

“Commander Brandt and the kissing and red hair stuff of course!”

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” came the disinterested answer.

“You’re such a bore!”

“And you’re just way to damn nosy, Keith! It’s not our business to understand what they’re talking about,” Heinz reminded the other.

“Spoilsport.”

“Shut up!”

“Well, the commander has once more confirmed his definite balls of steel with the way he had kept needling Grindelwald.”

The other guard only gave a nod in reply, the hallway thusly falling silent again.

 

**~~~**

**1** \- Yes, dammit!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Newt! Turns out Theseus is the real _Stinckstiefel_ in this fic ☹ (Did it hurt you to read that scene as much as it hurt me to write it?)  
> That aside, I was googling towns in Ukraine and randomly came across the name Pripyat. I thought to myself that since we already have Marie Curie in this fic, we might as well continue along this line. So for the dragon resort I picked the name of the town who would later become a ghost town after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in 1986.
> 
> Also, today’s song recommendation is: Betta Lemme - Bambola [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMvMR-jNSKg)


	7. Just do what makes you happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for this 5.7k deluxe chap full of action and tooth-rotting fluff.  
> Originally I wanted to divide this into two chapters, but I just couldn’t find a good point where I could break it up. Anyway, I don’t think you darlings are too unhappy with that 😉

It was nearly dawn in the English countryside and Newt had spent the whole night packing. First he had restocked his suitcase’s inventory of food, potions, herbs and medicines, then he began relocating the inhabitants. Most of them had stayed calm and relaxed, already familiar with the suitcase and their respective homes inside it. The few who had been a bit more nervous or stressed were quickly distracted by extra treats or some more cuddling.

The magizoologist couldn’t take every one of his fosterlings along for the trip, though. Those who were ready to be released back into the wild and those who were close to it, he left behind, knowing Bunty would take good care of them.

Newt hurried up, packing his own things last, before he scribbled out a short message to Bunty, stating that he had to leave because of some urgent business. Putting on his favourite blue coat, he stepped outside and locked the door behind himself and threw a last look at his quaint cottage. Steeling himself and taking a deep breath before he began this new adventure, Newt apparated to England’s southern coast. He knew an old smuggler who lived there that still owed him a favour. The man would be able to provide Newt with an illegal portkey to the European mainland.

That was how Newt and his suitcase arrived in the middle of a lavender field in the French countryside just as the sun rose over the horizon. Newt quickly checked that nothing had been damaged before he went to the closest country lane and followed it, heading westwards. The muggles in the first village he came across were really friendly and gave him directions to the next bigger cities and the interstate roads that lead out of the country.

Newt decided on heading to Brussels, Belgium first and then he'd try to catch some transport there that would be willing to take him along towards Eastern Europe. Newt avoided apparating since that always left some trace behind that might be tracked back to him and tramped in farmer’s carriages instead. When he had reached the Belgian border, Newt rented a horse for the following segment of his journey to Brussels.

He rode for two days and made good progress, considering the hours he needed to pause to take care of the animals in his case. On the third day of his ride, the magizoologist came upon a small town and decided to stay the night in its cosy inn instead of sleeping inside his case like he had done since he had left England.

The next morning, Newt enjoyed the nice breakfast the inn offered as he leafed through the most international newspaper he had been able to find in this town. He had cast a simple glamour over the magical paper and its moving pictures that made it look like a common muggle newspaper.

Inside it, the magizoologist found an article on the British aurors finishing up their raids on the Italian mafia. The article elaborated on the big blow that had been dealt against the English branch of the crime syndicate. With a small smile on his lips, Newt took a sip of his surprisingly good tea and turned over the page.

On the few national pages of the newspaper, he spied a report that the Belgian aurors were currently going up against smugglers and poachers that operated from inside Antwerp’s international harbour district. It was explicitly mentioned that it was strongly suspected that a subsidiary of an international poaching ring had taken up residence there.

Well, it looked like Newt needed to make a quick detour to Antwerp before he could go to Brussels. Continuing on horseback would be too slow however, so Newt decided to take the small risk and to apparate the rest of the way to Antwerp. If someone was even looking for him, then they surely wouldn’t look for apparation traces this far away from the mainland’s coast.

Newt payed for his stay and bought some bread and cheese to refill his stocks before he went into a deserted alley and apparated away.

**~~~**

A few hours later, the magizoologist was cursing his bad luck and his decision to go right ahead and explore the poacher’s warehouse without thoroughly staking it out beforehand. His attempt to save time had backfired on him and was what had led to him now cowering behind some shipping crates, clutching his wounded ankle.

Newt had managed to free all of the trafficker’s animals and to get them inside his case, but he was discovered when he tried to sneak back out of the warehouse. There had been more poachers than expected and only Newt’s quick wit and skills in apparating blindly had saved him from their initial attempt to end his life. However, the poachers could trace his apparations with relative ease and were hot on his heels. This forced the magizoologist to hop around the warehouse and find a new hiding place about every other minute. There were anti-apparation wards around the warehouse’s perimeter that restricted apparating directly in- or outside of it, yet apparating internally was still possible.

That was how Newt came to play a game of cat and mouse with the traffickers who were superior to him both in number and amount of magic they could throw around. They had managed to injure his ankle when he wasn’t quick enough to apparate away a few minutes earlier. Newt knew he had to get out of here and quickly because he could already feel his magic draining from all the apparating he had done today. The pain radiating from his injured ankle didn’t improve his situation any further, since it sapped some of his much needed concentration.

Taking a deep breath, Newt knew he had to take his chances now and hope for the best or he would either run out of magic, concentration, hiding places or luck if he decided to stay any longer. Newt apparated beside the stack of crates closest to one of the few exits and managed to be a second faster than the guard watching the door. He stunned the man and threw the door open, running outside as fast as he could on his damaged ankle.

When he passed through the outer ward, he immediately apparated as far away as he could at the moment. He reappeared in a quiet forest some 50 kilometres to the southwest. His leg with the injured ankle buckled when he put weight on it and Newt fell to his hands and knees. Still clutching his suitcase, the magizoologist stayed sitting on the ground and took a minute to catch his breath. He couldn’t waste any of his magic on numbing or healing his ankle though, since he knew his pursuers would manage to trace him any minute now to chase him down.

Grimacing, Newt got back up onto his feet and apparated a short distance away, trying to win another bit of time. He felt the strain that last apparation had taken on his magic and knew he couldn’t continue like this for much longer.

Making up his mind, Newt opened the top button of his vest and reached inside to pull a certain piece of paper out of its safekeeping. It was the only solution he could come up with to get rid of his pursuers and find a safe resting place to take care of his ankle at the same time. Guess he had to accept Gellert’s invitation sooner than the both of them had probably thought. 

Newt tried to brace himself as well as he could since he didn’t know exactly how much magic it would take to activate the spell Gellert had cast on the piece of paper. The magizoologist just hoped that the spell had turned the paper into a portkey strong enough that he would manage to make it all the way to Nurmengard while preferably remaining unharmed. If not, Newt feared he might reappear somewhere along the way, splinched half to death. Firmly clutching his suitcase to himself, the magizoologist unfolded the paper. After a last look around, Newt touched the single word written on it as he coaxed up the last of his magic.

 

**_~ Meanwhile in front of Nurmengard’s inner castle gate ~_ **

 

“Hey, have you been to the school’s theatrical performance?” the guard asked his brunette colleague who was on shift with him, both guarding the entrance to the castle. 

“Yeah, my niece played one of the trees. It was nice, I guess,” the other replied.

“Yeah, my dumb little brother played the back part of the two-man horse costume. It was a wonder he didn’t screw up and trample someone,” the shorter trailed off with a chuckle. “But anyway…Did you see that girl playing the second lead? Uh, smoking hot that one, I tell ya!”

“Wasn’t that commander Brandt’s daughter?” the other mused with a frown on his face.

“What! You serious?”

“Yeah. So, you better hope the commander never hears what you’ve just said or he’s just going to make you disappear…or something,” the brunette advised his shorter colleague who was known as quite the Casanova in their regiment.  

The shorter man’s answer went unheard however, as a loud crack drowned out whatever he was going to say in reply. The two guards snapped their attention to the person that had suddenly appeared in front of them. The stranger had landed in a sprawl and had fallen down on his front, coming to lie on the cobblestones that made up Nurmengard’s inner courtyard. The suitcase the man had had with him skidded away from him and came to a stop a few meters to their right.  

“ _Was zum Teufel!_ ” **1** the shorter guard exclaimed at the sudden appearance of the man in the strange blue coat.

With their wands in hand and ready to stun or restrain the man at any time, the guards cautiously stepped closer to the panting redhead. Going by their cursory assessment, the redhead seemed to be mostly unharmed and not hostile, since he didn’t try to reach for the wand that had fallen from his hand when he had collapsed on the ground.

“Who are you and what do you want?” the brunette guard asked.

Seeming to need another few seconds to catch his breath enough to answer, the redhead rolled over onto his back and wearily peered up at the two guards standing over him.

“I’m Newt,” he got out between his pants, “and I was wondering if Gellert might be home?” he asked in a shy tone of voice while giving them a weak smile.

The shorter guard glanced over at his brunette colleague who gave him a slight nod. The shorter guard therefore briskly turned back to their station and alerted commander Brandt to their possible breach of security.

Hermann arrived before the gates via apparation only a few seconds later.

“What is the situation?” Hermann demanded to know immediately upon his arrival.

“Sir, this man here…”

“Newt?!” Hermann exclaimed, cutting the guard’s report short the moment he recognised the red hair and freckled face of the magizoologist lying on the ground a few steps away from him.  

Hermann instantly hurried over and knelt on the ground beside Newt, quickly looking the magizoologist over for any obvious injuries. “Are you alright?” the commander asked with a worried expression.

“Hello, Hermann,” the magizoologist greeted and began to slowly sit up since he had recovered his breath somewhat. “I’m fine…mostly,” Newt added with a sheepish smile as Hermann helped him to sit up.

“Hello to you too, Newton. You know, you really had me worried there for a second!”

Newt lowered his gaze and mumbled, “Ah, sorry…”

Hermann held out his hand to help the magizoologist with getting up from the ground. The commander didn’t like how much weight the redhead had to put on him to get to his feet, though. He gave Newt another critical once-over, suspecting the other man wasn’t as fine as he had said before fixing him with a stern expression.

“Ahm, yeah…my ankle hurts a bit. But it’s probably just a sprain!” the redhead disclosed as he stood waveringly.

Hermann took the magizoologist’s arm and threw it over his shoulders to prevent him from falling over or putting any weight on his injured foot.

“We’ll see about that…” the German said before his concerned frown turned into a more cheery expression. “But why don’t you come inside first? Gellert’s in his office. I’ll take you,” he offered as he summoned Newt’s infamous suitcase into his hand.

“Ok and thanks, that sounds good!” the magizoologist replied as Hermann put a grip on his waist to keep him from falling before he apparated them both inside.

They reappeared inside a short hallway which only had one door at its right hand end and a spiral staircase leading upwards at its left end. In the middle of it was a wider, open staircase leading downstairs with two guards standing on the landing. The lone door in the corridor was briskly opened a few seconds after they had arrived.

“Hermann, what…” the dark lord began before he cut himself off as he registered Newt’s presence beside his head of security.

“What happened? Where are you injured?” Gellert asked as he hurriedly went over to the other two men, alarmed by Newt’s shaky stance.

“It’s just my ankle…” Newt answered with the same sheepish smile he had given Hermann when he had asked him the same thing.

“Please, come and sit down so we can take a look at it,” Gellert said gently, his worry for the other shining through in his tone of voice.

When Newt took a hop closer to the room he had been invited into, Gellert came to his unoccupied side and lifted his still free arm over his shoulders to help him along. They slowly made their way into the dark lord’s office and over to the comfortable chesterfield that stood by the open fireplace. Newt was carefully sat down on it and his injured leg was propped up on the coffee table.

“It’s nice to see you, even under these unfortunate circumstances,” Gellert noted as he went down on one knee by Newt’s injured foot and started to carefully unlace his boot.

“You, too. And I’m sorry to just barge in unannounced…but I got into a bit trouble with some traffickers and I was kind of in hurry,” the magizoologist tried to explain himself.

“No need to apologize! I told you that you could come visit any time after all,” Gellert replied, glancing up to Newt’s face, “and I meant what I said.”

“Thank you.” The magizoologist shyly regarded the other two men with a warm smile, trying to convey his gratitude for their help.

“You’re very welcome,” Hermann assured in a warm tone of voice as he sat the magizoologist’s suitcase down beside the couch.

“Could you please get the medicinal kit?” Gellert asked his right hand man who was already half way across the room to fetch said kit even if Gellert hadn’t asked.

“I’m going to pull this off now,” Gellert told the magizoologist as he lightly tapped the now unlaced boot. “Tell me if anything hurts, ok?”

“Ok,” Newt agreed and Gellert started to slowly pull off his boot. Newt grimaced in pain when it finally slipped off his foot.

“Alright?” came the German’s immediate concerned enquiry.

“Yeah, mostly. Just hurts a bit more than I thought…”

“Probably the adrenaline wearing of,” Gellert stated and proceeded to cautiously roll off the redhead’s sock before he pulled up the pant leg to reveal a swollen and bruised ankle.

“That looks like more than just a sprain,” Hermann, who had returned with the medical kit, commented as he looked over Newt’s ankle.

“Yes, there’s very likely a brake,” the dark lord confirmed his right hand man’s assessment. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“Not really, just a few scratches and bruises,” the magizoologist replied. He gestured at the slightly tattered cloth over his knees and shortly held up his scraped, and lightly bleeding palms. “Nothing a bit of healing balm can’t fix,” Newt added, smiling waveringly in an attempt at lightening the mood. It fell a bit flat however, considering the few lines of pain around the redhead’s eyes were clearly visible to the other two men in the room. 

“True, but your ankle’s going to need a little more attention,” Gellert chided gently.

Hermann had set out some neatly labelled flasks and cream tubes on the coffee table in the meantime. Gellert picked up the first flask and shook it before he uncorked it.

“This one is against the pain,” he explained as he handed it over to Newt, “and it even tastes like tomato instead of the usual rancid eggs,” the dark lord praised it.

“That’s certainly an improvement,” Newt replied. He gave a short toast before he threw back the flask, emptying it in as few gulps as possible. 

“Definite improvement,” Newt remarked as he shortly studied the emptied flask before he handed it back to the now grinning man kneeling before him.

“Now, for the next course I’m afraid I can’t offer such delicacies,” Gellert said, managing to get a laugh from the redhead as he handed him the next flask. “This is for the fractured bone,” the dark lord explained more seriously. “Try to get it all down and your ankle will be completely fine before lunchtime tomorrow.”   

“That’s fast!” Newt’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Normally it would take at least two to three days before an ordinary bone mending potion managed to completely heal up a fracture.

“Yes, but the price for that is its repugnant taste. No matter what I added to improve it, every flavour was just absorbed or neutralised,” Gellert replied as he grumpily glared at the potion he seemed to be at feud with.

“Well, that’s a price I’m willing to pay,” Newt replied and took the small flask. He held his nose and swallowed its syrupy content in one gulp. Newt shuddered and grimaced at the residual taste it left behind in his mouth. “That was truly vile! I might have to take back my previous statement…” Newt whined, to which Hermann had to stifle a chuckle.

Wordlessly Gellert offered a strong smelling mint drop which the younger man took gratefully. It made the taste in Newt’s mouth bearable and he didn’t feel like puking anymore. The pain killer had kicked in as well and Newt felt his up to now tensed muscles relax in response, making him sink further into the couch.

Gellert picked up one of the cream tubes and started to carefully apply its cooling content to Newt’s swollen ankle.

“That should take care of the swelling,” the dark lord said when he was done and screwed the cap back onto the tube. “Keeping the foot elevated for another bit will help as well.”

Hermann had in the meantime busied himself with lighting a fire in the open fireplace across from the couch and Newt enjoyed the comfortable heat that started to radiate from it.

“Thank you,” Newt muttered since he felt the need to once more express his gratitude for everything the two men had done for him.

“Helping you goes without saying,” the dark lord replied smoothly as he smeared the last bit of cooling cream on his fingers onto Newt’s ankle with a light caress.

Hermann cleared his throat and stepped around the couch.

“I’ll go get you two something for dinner,” he announced before he strode across the room and out the door.

The dark lord rose from where he had been crouching between the couch and the coffee table and put the used up potions aside. He came back over to the couch and sat down beside the magizoologist, his body turned towards him. One leg crossed over the other, Gellert took out his wand and held his hand out, palm up, to the battered magizoologist.

“Your hands, please,” Gellert prompted gently. 

When Newt had given him his slightly bloody hands, Gellert lightly trailed the tip of his wand over them. The scratches and deeper scrapes closed themselves back up as the few splinters and gravel that were stuck in them were pushed out. With a final tap of his wand, Gellert vanished those and the dried blood before he let go of Newt’s palms.

The magizoologist took his now healed hands back into his lap and shortly examined them before he glanced back at the man beside him, a grateful smile on his lips. Gellert returned his smile with one of his own before he turned to the other’s knees and repeated the same procedure there. When the dark lord was done, he sat back and put his wand away again before fixing Newt with a thoughtful expression.

“The ministry was quick to lift your traveling ban,” Gellert mused with a miniscule turn of his head that hinted he knew very well that this couldn't have been the case.

“They didn’t,” Newt admitted readily.

“Then why did you leave anyway? If you don’t mind me asking…”

“No, I don’t mind!” Newt assured. “You see, there was an article about Ukraine on the front page of last Sunday’s daily prophet…”

“Pripyat,” Gellert stated simply, after having connected the dots that had caused Newt to decide to run away. “Of course the magizoologist couldn’t sit by idly when there are creatures in danger,” Gellert said, a fond smile appearing on his lips.

The redhead simply replied with a shy grin that somehow still managed to convey exactly how little remorse he seemed to feel for his decision to break the law and run off. The dark lord scoffed in amusement and shook his head at the younger man’s blasé attitude to rule-breaking.

“Naughty, naughty,” Gellert scolded sarcastically.  

“You’re one to talk!” Newt retorted, crossing his arms and giving the other a mock indignant look that made Gellert’s lips turn up into an unapologetic grin.

A few seconds later, knocking was heard before Hermann re-entered the room, carrying two large bowls and a pot of tea in his arms.

“ _Heiß und fettig!”_ the German exclaimed jovially as he sat everything down on the coffee table. Hermann lifted the dishcloths covering the bowls, revealing steaming fish and chips. “I mean: Hot and oily?” the German corrected his slip up in language. “Something rich and filling to speed up your healing!” he added as he handed Newt his bowl.

“Yum! This looks fantastic, thank you!” the magizoologist replied, giving Hermann a delighted smile. “Bon appétit!” Newt added when Gellert had been handed his bowl as well.

“ _Merci, vous aussi_!” **2** the dark lord countered in nearly accent-free French before they both dug in.

Hermann clapped his hands together, “So, enjoy and have a nice evening! I’ll be on my way then; that is, if you don’t need anything from me?”

Hermann’s questioning glance was answered by a shake of the dark lord’s head.

“Um, no. But thanks for everything,” Newt added.

“Very well, good night and till tomorrow!” Hermann said before he turned and left the room, the door softly clicking shut behind him.

“You speak French?” Newt asked after a brief lull in conversation.

“A bit,” Gellert claimed, greatly downplaying his level of proficiency. “You?”

“No, I only know ‘ _Bonjour_ ’, ‘ _Salut_ ’ and ‘ _Merci_ ’…Never really got the hang of French articulation.”

“Yeah, it takes some getting used to if your mother tongue is English, not to mention German.”

They continued eating in companionable silence for another few minutes, before Gellert pursed his lips, trying to come up with a way to ask the question that had been burning in his mind.

The magizoologist turned to Gellert, one eyebrow slightly raised in question, “What is it?”

Gellert finished chewing his chip.

“You seem sad…” Gellert hinted at the topic, but left the choice whether to pick up on the prompt or not to the younger man.

Newt paused in his eating and stared at the food in his lap, his expression closing off somewhat. “Well, to be honest, I kind of am.”

Gellert ate another chip before he dug deeper, “I was wondering if there had been another reason beside the dragons that has caused you to leave England?”

The dark lord didn’t want to pressure Newt into telling him something he didn’t feel comfortable sharing with him. Yet, he wanted to offer a listening ear in case the other needed it. Putting his feet up on the coffee table and crossing one ankle over the other, Gellert turned his gaze away and watched the flames dancing in the fireplace.

“I guess my brother had a hand in it as well.” Newt picked up a chip and bit off half of it, chewing contemplatively. “We had…a bit of a fall out before I left.”

Newt dropped his half eaten chip back into his bowl and rubbed his eyes with the back of his curled fingers, giving a tired sigh. “I feel like me and my brother never were that close. But ever since my parents had died, we were the only close family we’ve got left. And I love him, I really do… but Thee did always have a more…assertive personality and I feel like he has gotten more overbearing over the last few years, with him becoming head auror and getting engaged and all...”

Newt made a listless gesture with his hand before he picked up his half-eaten chip and popped it into his mouth. “Last Sunday he visited me and…and I don’t know what happened, but he just got so angry." Newt’s last words had a light quiver to them before his throat closed up. Harrumphing to get it cleared up again, Newt haltingly continued a short while later. “He called me naïve and said that the ministry would never let me travel again.”

Newt fidgeted and blinked rapidly a few times, seemingly fighting back tears. Gellert, who had turned his head back towards the other, reached out and laid a hand over Newt’s fidgeting ones. The magizoologist stilled instantly but pressed his quivering lips together, still trying to contain the tears that kept threatening to fall.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to continue,” Gellert said, giving the other man’s hands a light squeeze.

“I know…” came Newt’s chocked off reply. The magizoologist took a few breathes to reign in his emotions before he elaborated, “It wasn’t really what he had said that got to me, though. It was the way he said it. Like, he’s been annoyed with me before. Many times. But I’ve never seen this kind of anger on his face. I was… It was like he genuinely hated me.”

In the end, a few tears had managed to escape Newt’s control and had started rolling down his face anyway. Newt sniffed and roughly wiped them away with his left palm as Gellert soothingly rubbed his thumb over the outside of his other hand. “He left directly after that and I just started crying,” Newt continued. “Later, when I went upstairs to get changed, I saw my suitcase sitting in the back of my closet and in that moment I felt so sure of what I needed to do.”

Newt contorted his face into something resembling a smile as he wiped off his wet palm on his thigh. “I spent the whole night packing and left before dawn. Took an illegal portkey to France, then went on to Belgium. It was pathetic, but I still felt shaky even on the next morning after I had left. I got over it though and freed some animals from traffickers in Antwerp. I got in trouble of course and that’s how I ended up here, I guess.”

Newt gave Gellert an embarrassed half smile before quickly looking back down at his hands. Newt turned the hand that lay under Gellert’s around, letting them come to rest palm to palm now. “Sorry, that was quite the rant now, wasn’t it?” Newt remarked as he studied the back of the other man’s hand.

“On the contrary. Thank you for telling me,” Gellert replied quietly. He kept his hand still, waiting to see what Newt would do with it.

The dark lord leaned back against the backrest and propped his elbow up on it, resting his head against the fingers of his unoccupied hand. 

“Thanks for listening then,” Newt mumbled as he trailed the tip of his index finger over a thin, yet long scar marring Gellert’s knuckles.

Newt knew all too well from his rescued animals what the scars from a misused whip looked like. Gellert had a distinct mark of it in the place where teachers usually beat their pupils over the knuckles. The magizoologist knew that beating an unruly pupil’s hands with a thin whip or cane was still a widely spread punishment school teachers liked to use. The whip’s or canes’ sharp sting would hurt and was meant to encourage the pupil think twice the next time he wanted to try anything. It was considered a less violent means to educate children, since it should not draw any blood or leave permanent marks behind.

“My fifth grade history teacher got rather angry when I kept pointing out his oversights,” Gellert commented quietly, breaking the brief silence.

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, nothing to be done about it now.” Gellert gave a bitter smile before he nodded towards the suitcase sitting by Newt’s feet. “Do they still need to be fed?”

“Nope, they’re fine! I gave them extra rations before I went into the trafficker’s warehouse. They will easily last them until tomorrow,” Newt replied before lifting his hand to his mouth to hide a yawn behind it.   

“And those you’ve freed; do they need any medicine?”

“Nah, they were in surprisingly good health. Probably haven’t been with the poachers for long…” Newt broke off as he got interrupted by another yawn.

“I’m glad.” Gellert finally took his hand back from Newt's and pointed at the other’s nearly empty bowl, “Are you still going to eat that?”

“Not really. I’m totally stuffed!”

“Yes, me too.” Gellert took their nearly emptied bowls and got up to set them aside on the coffee table. “Bedtime now?” the dark lord asked as he put another log into the nearly burned down fireplace. “All the guest bedrooms are currently unoccupied, so you have free choice. I’d recommend the south-western one, though. It has a nice view over the alps.”

“Sounds lovely!” Newt replied with a gentle smile. “And thank you again for letting me stay the night. I’ll be out of your hair by tomorrow to find out where Pripyat’s dragons have been taken.”

Newt scooted forward to sit on the edge of the couch before he carefully moved his injured leg and put it down on the ground. Gellert went over to the struggling magizoologist and wordlessly held out his hand, which Newt accepted with a smile.

“I’d like to help you,” Gellert started as he pulled Newt up to his feet and picked up his suitcase. The dark lord positioned Newt’s arm over his shoulders before he apparated them both to the south-western guestroom, “and I don’t mean just with your leg, but with the dragons as well,” Gellert continued once they had reappeared in the nicely decorated guestroom that offered a spectacular view down the cliffs on which Nurmengard castle sat.

“What?” Newt asked as he turned to the man beside him, an expression of clear surprise on his face.

“If you’d accept it, I’d like to help you with finding and freeing Pripyat’s lost dragons,” Gellert stated calmly, gesturing toward the comfortable looking canopy bed and assisting Newt towards it. “And no, it won’t be a bother and you don’t have to thank me,” Gellert was quick to reassure the other. “I was looking for a relief of the nearly endless series of meetings I’ve been to recently, anyway. And to be honest, I’d like to avoid another thing like that happening to you again,” Gellert said, gesturing at Newt’s broken ankle.

They had reached the bed and Gellert intended to offer Newt his arm to hold on to so the other had it easier to lower himself down onto the bed. The dark lord was taken by surprise however, when Newt threw his other arm over his shoulders as well and embraced him in a brief hug.

“Thanks anyway,” the redhead whispered before letting go of Gellert and plopping down onto the bed behind him with his arms spread wide. Newt closed his eyes and his mouth turned up in a content smile. “I’m not going to move until tomorrow,” the redhead announced, stifling another yawn.

Gellert stood and watched in a bit of a stupor, still processing the surprisingly affectionate gesture of the usually shy man. After a few seconds, he moved and sat Newt’s suitcase down by the bedside table.

“You’re going to sleep with one shoe still on?” Gellert asked, amused by the other man’s antiques.

“Uh-huh,” came the muffled reply since Newt had thrown an arm over his face.

Charmed by the other’s childishness, Gellert bent down and swiftly pulled the one remaining shoe off Newt’s dangling foot. With his other hand Gellert summoned the duvet to himself and simply threw it over the still unmoving magizoologist, covering him from head to toe.

“Sleep tight then!” Gellert snickered.

“I will!” called Newt from beneath the duvet.

“Good.” The corner of Gellert’s eyes crinkled in delight. “I’ll go ahead and assign some men to get us information on the dragon’s possible whereabouts. This way, we’ll probably have enough of an idea of what’s currently going on in Ukraine to start coming up with a plan by tomorrow evening,” Gellert said. He then turned to make sure the fire in the small fireplace opposite the canopy bed would stay lit throughout the night and the next morning.

When the dark lord turned back around, Newt had pulled his legs up onto the bed and was peering tiredly at him from beneath the duvet that still covered everything but his face.

“Good night,” Newt mumbled, close to nodding off already.  

“Should you need anything throughout the night, just pull the string by the bedside table and a maid will come by. Otherwise, have a good night, too and see you tomorrow!”

Gellert gave Newt a nod in farewell and stepped out the guestroom to see to it that some of his men would be set on the case of the abducted dragons before he went to bed as well.

 

**~~~**

**1** \- What the devil!

 **2** -  Thanks, you too!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Newt is such a cutie, right? (✿◠‿◠)
> 
> Next chapter, some plans will be made and Newt’s unwittingly going to be a bit of a badass.
> 
> The song recommendation for this chapter is: Beth Ditto - Do you need someone [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DgwYltXMkg)


	8. Riding on, getting lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 100 kudos?! Are you mad, my peeps? Thank you so much though, I’m overwhelmed my fic got that much love!  
> Also, did you notice the total chapter count recently? *hint hint*

When Newt woke up the following morning, he blearily peered around himself. He needed a few seconds to remember where he was and how he had gotten here. Apparently he had fallen asleep fully clothed, laying diagonally over the middle of the king size bed. Newt stretched and peered outside the closest window. The sun had risen and was already sitting a bit higher up in the sky, indicating that it was likely already past 10 a.m.

Rubbing his eyes, Newt enjoyed how the comfortable mattress cradled him and contemplated whether he should just let himself fall asleep again or simply rest for a little while longer. Some minutes later, a knock came from the door through which Gellert had left the previous evening.

“Yeah?” Newt croaked, his voice still a bit unused from the long time he had spent sleeping.

“I was wondering if everything is alright? It’s nearly 11 a.m.,” came the dark lord’s slightly concerned voice through the door.

“I’m fine! Just slept in, I guess!” Newt called back.

“Alright, if that’s the case, then you might be interested in the breakfast I’ve brought with me though?” came the chipper voice from the other side of the door.

“Oh, absolutely! Do come inside!” Newt invited. He sat up in bed and hastily raked his fingers through his hair, trying to tame his curls somewhat. “Good morning!” Newt smiled at the dark lord when he had stepped inside, carrying a tray laden with an assorted breakfast selection.

“Good morning to you, too,” the blonde replied warmly, throwing a short bemused glance at Newt’s bedhead. “Slept well?” he asked as he sat the tray down on the bed besides the redhead.

“Yes, splendidly! This thing is so comfortable,” Newt replied as he poked the mattress he was sitting on.

“Then everything is as it should be.” Gellert gave the other a pleased smile before he gestured at the tray he had brought. “I hope there’s something on this you like?”

“With the porridge, honey, jam and all these fresh fruits…yes, definitely! And this is quite more lavish than what I’m used to. Thank you!” Newt put the duvet aside to make some more space before he scooted closer to the tray and picked up the bowl of porridge. “You want something too?” the magizoologist asked, as he mixed some honey and fresh fruits into his porridge.

“No, thanks. This is for you and I already had breakfast,” Gellert replied as he folded his hands behind his back. “How’s your foot?” the dark lord enquired with a nod towards it.

“I think its fine,” Newt mused as he critically looked his once more completely normal looking ankle over. “I haven’t walked on it yet, but I think it’s all healed up again.”

“Will you be alright to take care of your animals then, or would you like me to give you a hand at first?”

“No, no, you don’t have to! I’m fine now and you’ve done enough for me already!” Newt replied hastily. “I’ve been enough of an inconvenience and probably kept you from some important things that you’ve got to catch up on…” The redhead ducked his head down, feeling a tad embarrassed.

“Oh, none of that now! You’ve made an otherwise boring evening much more enjoyable,” the dark lord reassured with a grin on his lips. “Do you or they need anything else?” Gellert added, indicating Newt’s suitcase with his eyes.

“No, but thanks! I made sure to stock up on everything before I left England. I’m just happy I have a bit more time today to take care of them. I’m afraid their physical therapy and training has been a bit neglected over the last few days,” Newt said as he sheepishly scratched himself behind the ear. “After yesterday’s extra rations, some of them are going to be eager to get rid of their excess energy, I’m sure.”

“I see. If it would help, you can take them out for a run in the courtyard,” Gellert offered as he threw a short glance out the window and down towards said courtyard. “It should be big enough…” he added when he noticed Newt had stopped eating and was looking at him wide eyed.

“Wh…What?” Newt stuttered out in disbelieve of the other man’s so casually spoken offering.

Gellert replied with a light frown forming between his eyes. Going by Newt’s taken aback reaction to his offer, the dark lord wondered if he had said something wrong.

“Even Bobbie?” Newt mumbled towards his lap.

Gellert raised one of his eyebrows in question.

“Uhm, Barbara. My nundu?” Newt elaborated tentatively before he ate the last spoonful of his porridge.

“As long as there will be no maiming or killing, I don’t see why not,” Gellert replied, his expression turning more guarded since he was still uncertain what New was trying to get at.

“Are you…” Newt began before he interrupted himself. He looked down at his lap and started fiddling with his spoon. “I mean, do you really mean it?”

“Mean what?”

“What you offered…” Newt nervously glanced up toward the other man to judge how he was going to react.

“Yes, of course I did,” Gellert answered, finally getting an inkling of why Newt had suddenly become so hesitant. He cursed the magizoologist’s overbearing older brother, for the large part Gellert suspected he had played in making Newt this insecure and distrusting of other people. It had been a long while since the magizoologist had last stuttered and mumbled like that in Gellert’s company.

“Oh…” came Newt’s disbelieving answer. He dropped the spoon he had been fiddling with and sprang out of the bed. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Newt exclaimed excitedly, beaming at the other man. “They are going to be so excited!” Newt grabbed his suitcase and went over to Gellert, nearly bouncing in his enthusiasm. “Some of them have never seen any snow! They are going to flip out!” Newt added, gesticulating wildly.

Gellert laughed, delighted by how thrilled the other man was by the, in his eyes, simple offer. With a fond smile on his lips, the dark lord turned towards the door leading out of the guestroom. “I take it you want to get started immediately?” he asked, putting a hand on the small of the Newt’s back when the other man had stepped up beside him.

“Yes!” Newt said, grinning widely. “Please, lead the way!”

“Very well.” Gellert raised his arm, indicating the door before them.

Shortly before they reached the door, Gellert overtook the magizoologist with a few quick steps, so he could hold the door open before politely letting his guest step through first.

**~~~**

“Okay, Cadets,” Hermann addressed the squad of trainees standing before him. “You may know how to use your wands, but that’s not the only skill you should rely on in a fight! What if your wand gets taken, hm?” he asked, throwing a questioning glance at the men and women standing before him. “Believe me that happens more often than you’d think. So, being proficient in any other kind of combat might just be what’s going to make the difference between life and death one day!”

Hermann turned around and gestured at the board hanging behind him. “Depending on your preferences and talents at least one of these options should be pursued.”

He pointed at the first thing on his list. “Option one: Physical strength and fighting skills. If your wand gets taken, simply try to fight an enemy by using your hands and feet. It’s surprising how many wizards don’t expect a fist instead of a spell flying towards them. If done right, you’ll likely get the drop on them and might be able to take back your wand or take them out of the fight by using your close combat skills.”

“But that might not be the best option for anyone or any situation.” Hermann pointed at the next thing on his list, “That is where option two comes into play: Speed and agility. If you get in trouble, than you simply try to outrun it and make it to a point where you’ll stand a better chance against your opponent. This is especially useful when your opponent is the burlier and simpler minded kind or your opponents outnumber you. Run like a weasel and confuse them by not engaging them. And for the next thing, something that is very important, yet might not save your lives,” Hermann said as he moved his finger down to the next point on his list.

“Plan things out beforehand and prepare a strategy! Mostly this works really well and gives you a huge advantage compared to going into a situation unprepared. However, the unfortunate disadvantage is that a good plan needs a bit of time in advance to put together. And even the best laid plan can quickly go to shit because you can never calculate for everything.” Hermann pointed out the last thing on his list, fixing the trainees with a stern look, “And last but not least: Teamwork! Fucking work together! Know your partner’s or teammates’ strengths and roughly plan out how you’re going to work together according to your skills and talents! You got that?”

“Yes, sir!” came the crisp affirmation from the trainees.

“Good. Your talents will be assessed later and you’ll be grouped into different training groups to work on what I just told you.” Hermann clapped his hands together and grinned at the trainees. “But that has been enough talking for now! A skill anyone should have is stamina and that’s what we’ll be working on now. We’ll start by jogging around the premises, follow me!”

“Yes, sir!” was called out in unison again as everyone got into standard group position and started to jog after the commander. 

Hermann and the trainee squad had made relatively good progress and had nearly rounded the outer wall some 15 minutes later.  They were about to turn the next corner when a low growling noise, accompanied by hurried footsteps of someone running could be heard. Hermann stopped and instantly had his wand in hand, ready to take on anything. In the same moment a tall redhead came sprinting around the corner ahead of them, his head turned to look behind him. Not a second later, the thing that had emitted the growl followed the redhead around the corner.

‘ _Dear Morgana’_ Hermann thought to himself as the horse-sized lion leapt off the ground and made to pounce on the redhead. Hermann stopped himself from casting a spell at the last second since Newt strangely didn’t look anywhere close to scared or alarmed by the beast chasing him. The magizoologist looked rather exuberant instead. The lion caught Newt with her paw and threw the now grinning redhead onto the ground, coming to a stop with one of its paws resting on his chest. The gigantic lion started to lick and nuzzle the magizoologist, who was petting and praising it.

“You utter madman!” Hermann exclaimed after he was able to look the lion over a few seconds longer and finally recognized it for the nundu it was. He swore Newt’s beasts and his reckless behaviour were going to give him a heart attack one of these days!

Sighing in exasperation at his boss’s infatuation with the redhead, Hermann pinched the bridge of his nose before he turned to look back at his trainees to make sure they weren’t planning to do anything stupid. The trainees looked to be in different states of shock, fear and the few with likely a bit more knowledge of magical beasts seemed to mutter something like their last prayer.  

“Stay!” Hermann ordered them like he would an unruly puppy before he looked the magizoologist over again.

“Yay, Bobbie! You’ve been so good! Such a good little girl! That was a fantastic catch!” Newt enthusiastically praised his nundu lioness in a high pitched voice while still laying on the cobblestones beneath her. The nundu had started purring before she took back her paw and let Newt up from the ground. The magizoologist was scratching her behind the ears, when he threw a sheepish glance at Hermann and the group of people standing behind him.

“Ahm, sorry for stopping you…” Newt said as the nundu pressed her head against his torso. Newt hugged her and kept petting her before he elaborated, “We were just training how to hunt, you see.”

“That’s a nundu,” Hermann pointed out calmly.

“Yes! Her name is Bobbie and she’s very friendly!” Newt replied with a wide grin as he looked fondly down at the purring lioness in his arms. “You can come over and pet her if you want to!”

Some of the trainees behind Hermann gasped at the now confirmed nundu lioness before them. Going by the sounds of commotion, someone had likely fainted. Hermann sighted again, knowing there was still a lot of work ahead for him to get those green-behind-the-ears cadets up to his standard.  

“I think I’ll decline this time,” Hermann replied to the magizoologist, who seemed either oblivious or completely nonchalant about the panic he had caused with his nundu.

“Gellert had said it was ok to let her out in the courtyard,” Newt mentioned, feeling like he had to explain himself.

“Of course he did,” Hermann noted dryly, knowing his boss would probably allow Newt anything if it’d make the redhead happy. “Speak of the devil…” Hermann muttered as he noticed the blonde man approaching them with a suitcase.

“Sorry, what?” Newt asked with his eyebrows raised, not having been able to clearly make out Hermann’s words.

The commander simply indicated the approaching man behind the magizoologist, before he turned back to the trainees. He had to make sure they’d manage some semblance of discipline in front of their leader, instead of looking like a tittering and whispering flock of scared chickens.

“Oh, hello Gellert!” Newt called towards the blonde with a happy smile on his lips.

“You had some fun, I see,” the dark lord noted with a humorous tone in his voice when he had reached Newt’s side. Gellert took in the pale trainees standing at attention behind Hermann, trying to look like they hadn’t nearly pissed their pants a minute earlier. Hermann meanwhile gave his boss a simple nod in greeting.

“Yeah, it was great! She was especially playful today and she loved the snowdrifts in the corner over there,” Newt said as he pointed toward the more shadowy part on the other side of the courtyard.

“That’s nice,” Gellert replied as he held his hand out for Bobbie to sniff. The nundu took a whiff and seemed to deem him acceptable since she nudged Gellert’s hand onto her forehead, asking to be petted by him as well.

“It was nice meeting you Newt, Gellert! We’ll continue with our training then…” Hermann interjected, trying to save face before one of the terrified trainees couldn’t hold in their piss anymore or decided to break rank and run away.

“I’ve brought your case,” Gellert said, ignoring his right hand man and holding said case out to the magizoologist. All the while he kept carding through the nundu’s soft fur.

“Thanks!” Newt replied as he took his case.

“The wizards I sent to get us intel on the situation in Ukraine have sent back their report. How about we go and discuss it over dinner?” Gellert asked. He turned to Hermann who had gotten the cadets to turn back the way they had come from and was about to jog off with them. “I’d like your thoughts on this matter as well,” Gellert called after his commander who stopped immediately before letting out a sigh.

“Go back to the barracks and tell one of the lieutenants that one of them has to take over your training today,” Hermann told the cadets who confirmed the order and jogged away noticeably faster than they ever had so far.

“Great, that was fast!” Newt replied to Gellert’s previous words while Hermann had been addressing the trainees.

Newt set his suitcase on the ground beside him and ducked down to get it open. He peered back at the content nundu lioness and softly addressed her. ”Hey, my sweet girl. You must be tired and hungry after playing for so long. There’s a nice treat waiting for you at your home…” Newt said, indicating the opened suitcase with his eyes.

Hermann turned back to the other two men and was glad that the cadets had already left since the nundu yawned widely, showing off her massive fangs. The lioness enjoyed a last scratch from Gellert before she went over to Newt and hopped into his suitcase. Newt closed the lid and clicked the latches shut before he stood back up and they all followed Gellert back inside.

**~~~**

An hour later the three man had finished their dinner and had gone up to Gellert’s office where they currently looked over some reports and maps strewn all over the large desk.

The wizards sent by the dark lord had been able to locate the dragons close by a small village at the black sea, not far from Odessa. They had gathered that the dragons had been kidnapped by a group of extremists who were of the opinion that Ukraine should forcefully take over its neighbouring countries. The militant group of kidnappers counted approximately 20 to 30 men that all had a least some kind of combat training.

“How about we set up base here,” Hermann proposed as he pointed out a spot on the map that was only a few miles to the west from where the kidnappers were hiding. “We leave this evening and observe the extremists over the night and the following morning. Depending on what we gather, we fine tune our plan of attack and strike before the next nightfall. Sometime before they eat dinner would likely be a good time.”

“I agree,” Gellert said. “We shouldn’t waist any more time, since the group will likely make a move soon. Having that many dragons, you need a lot of meat to feed them, don’t you?” Gellert asked as he turned toward the magizoologist beside him.

“Correct! Assuming they have about 3-4 dragons, they’ll need a least 200-300 kilograms of raw meat daily for them not to starve,” Newt replied.

“Which is likely what they’d want to avoid, since they can only use the dragons if they’re in any condition to fight and aren’t weakened from lack of food,” Gellert continued.

“Do you want to take anyone else along or is it just going to be us three for this?” Hermann interjected.

Gellert let his eyes flit over the other two men. “I think the three of us will be enough. We’ll be easier to avoid detection and the element of surprise will be on our side.” Gellert replied. “What do you think?”

“Between the two of us?” Hermann said as he gestured between himself and the dark lord, “We’ve got the firepower covered. Newt, what are your skills besides being an expert on dragons?”

“Well, I’m fast in apparating and running. When I rescue animals from poachers I always try to sneak in and out without being noticed. I’d say I’ve been relatively successful with that strategy so far,” the magizoologist answered, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve never been really good at duelling though…”

“Ok,” Hermann muttered as he grabbed his chin, thinking something over.

“It’ll probably be best to split up in two groups,” Gellert beat his commander to formulating a strategy. “One of us stays with Newt at all times. It’s more important to get us and the dragons out of there unharmed, than to take on the extremists. They can be dealt with later…” Gellert gestured between Hermann and Newt, “So, how about you two sneak into the camp to get the dragons, while I distract the extremists away from you?”

“Sounds good,” Newt said with a shrug, looking over to Hermann to judge what he thought of Gellert’s idea. “But please, no killing…” Newt added quietly.

“Hm, that complicates some things,” Hermann said. “Are we just going to let the dragon’s kidnappers get away then?” the commander asked as he looked at Newt with his head tilted slightly to the side.

“No, that’s not what I want,” Newt muttered towards the desk. “I’d rather we stun them and leave them for the aurors like you did with the two Mafiosi.”

“But wouldn’t killing them be only fair?” Hermann asked, seemingly unwilling to let up on the topic.   

Newt quickly glanced up to Hermann’s face before he flitted his gaze towards Gellert then dropped it back down to the desk again. “So what? You kill them and that’s it then for them. They might not even realise what is happening before they fall over dead…” Newt nervously wet his dry lips. “Compared to vegetating in some backwater prison for a few years…or the rest of their lives, considering poaching likely isn’t the only crime they’ve committed in their lives…killing them would be a kindness.”

Hermann’s eyebrows rose since he was quite taken aback by the redhead’s unexpected reasoning. The commander wouldn’t have taken the kind and shy man to have the capacity for this kind of cold calculation, but he could see Newt’s words making sense. Hermann looked over to Gellert. The blonde was smiling at the magizoologist like he had fallen even deeper in love with him than he already seemed to be.

“You have a point there,” Hermann voiced his thoughts eventually as he turned back to Newt.

Newt answered him with a small grateful smile, relieved that Hermann didn’t insist on the killing part of their plan.

“So, if we’re all set then, we should start to prepare everything we’re going to need to take with us. Will an hour be enough time?” Gellert asked.

“More than enough,” the magizoologist affirmed as he graced each of the other two man with a gentle smile.

“Yes, fine,” the commander said.

“Very well, we’ll be leaving in an hour then,” Gellert fixed their schedule.

They stacked the papers with their intel together neatly and sorted them back into a magically enlarged folder together with the rolled up maps of the surrounding area of the extremist’s camp. Hermann excused himself to get packing while Gellert accompanied Newt back to his guestroom.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Newt being adorable with his little darlings while completely ignoring what other people think of that. He knows what he’s doing, so chill ya all… 
> 
> Also, I have this head-cannon that Newt isn’t as happy-go-lucky or vanilla-harmless as many people like to think. On the contrary, I think he and Gellert have a lot of ideals in common, it’s just not that obvious by how they act most of the time. (That’s my interpretation of these characters anyway.)
> 
> Anyway, next chapter there will be dragons and a different kind of confrontation than our three dragon-rescuers would have anticipated.
> 
> And lastly, the recommended song for this chapter is: GusGus - Arabian horse [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYKBtFyf3Q8)


	9. An escape from who I was

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare to board the hurt/comfort train! (Heavy emphasis on the extra fluffy comfort part though)

Gellert, Hermann and Newt had arrived in Ukraine according to schedule on the previous evening. They had taken turns with staking out the extremist’s camp over the whole night, as well as the following morning. In the end, they had decided to stick to their plan from yesterday concerning how they’re going to split up and head in shortly before the extremists had their dinner sometime about 6 p.m.. Until then the three of them would catch up on some sleep before they’d put their plan into action.

At 4 p.m. Gellert was the first one to rise, since he had only been resting instead of sleeping like the other two men. The dark lord got up, but decided let the other two sleep a little while longer. He went and prepared some of the baguette, cheese and salami they had brought with them before he woke the others up half an hour later. The three men ate their lunch while going over every detail of their plan one last time to make sure everyone knew what they had to do.

Newt and Hermann were going to sneak into the extremist’s camp coming from the west since the tent holding the dragons was closest to the camp’s western border. They’d try to avoid attracting any attention to them before they’d load the dragons into Newt’s case. After that they’d vanish as quickly as possible. Gellert would meanwhile cause a distraction in the eastern part of the camp to clear the two men’s way. When they were all done, they’d meet up back here before they’d return to Nurmengard together.

When the three men had finished off their lunch, they packed up their small improvisational camp and made sure there would be nothing left behind that could be traced back to them.  At 5 p.m. they arrived at the northern perimeter of the extremist’s camp. They quietly wished each other good luck before they split up to get into their positions.

Newt and Hermann started their operation at 5.30 p.m. like they had all previously agreed upon. Hermann’s strong spellwork to hide the two of them worked very well combined with Newt’s tips on how to sneak around best without bumping into anything. Sticking close to shadowy patches, the two men creeped through the outskirts of the extremists’ camp. They noticed that the extremists were relaxed and were indeed about to head to the fireplace in the centre of their camp to get themselves some dinner. Newt and Hermann therefore had an easy time to reach and enter the dragon’s tent by crawling underneath the tarpaulin at its unguarded back.

Inside the gloomy tent they were met with the curious stares of three adult dragons and the frightened trilling of a baby dragon. The smallest one was kept in a cage separately from the others that were chained down to ground. Hermann watched curiously as Newt took an unhurried step closer to the caged baby dragon, showing it his empty hands while talking to it softly. When the baby and adult dragons didn’t look like they were going to attack, Newt pulled a whole wheel of very smelly cheese from his coat pocket. Hermann wrinkled his nose when it’s disgusting smell started to permeate the air inside the tent.

Newt cut off a chunk of the offending cheese wheel and threw it over to land by the head of the baby dragon. The dragon sniffed the piece shortly before it hastily devoured it. When the small dragon had swallowed, it searchingly sniffed the ground before it looked over to Newt who was holding up another chunk of cheese. The magizoologist kept mumbling soothingly as he carefully stepped closer and tossed the dragon the next piece of cheese. As the dragon was devouring it, Newt got out his wand and opened the cage that was way too small for the baby dragon’s size.

Newt summoned his suitcase to himself and laid it open on the ground beside the cage. After muttering another few words, he took a step back and showed the interested dragon the next chunk of cheese. When it had fixated on the cheese, he simply let the piece drop into his case, the dragon chasing after it excitedly.

Next, Newt turned to the closest adult dragon. It seemed less guarded now after it had watched him interact with the baby dragon. He had just managed to coax it into his suitcase as well, when a loud bang and some screaming could be heard coming from the east of the camp. Newt kept his calm composure and didn’t act in any way alarmed since the dragons would sense it if he’d get nervous. Losing his cool now would just make getting them into the case that much harder. Trusting that Hermann had his back, Newt continued unperturbed and freed the next dragon from its chains.

“We’re going to get company,” Hermann whispered as Newt coaxed the third dragon over to his case. When it had finally hopped into Newt’s case, Hermann stepped beside the redhead.

“Going by the suddenly increased count of life signatures I’ve registered, I gather that there’s someone else out there taking a pick at the extremists,” Hermann whispered urgently.

A loud explosion that rocked the ground could be heard and felt not a second later and the sound of battling drew rapidly closer. Hermann put a steadying hand on Newt’s elbow to keep the distracted man from falling over. The tent closest to then suddenly went up in flames, making eerie shadows dance over the ground where they stood.

“I’ll try to hurry up!” Newt whispered back as he quickly righted himself again and turned to the last dragon.

Newt had just freed it from its chains when a spell hit their tent, making it fall apart. The remaining pieces landed all around them and lit themselves on fire. Hermann erected a strong shield and cast a quick spell to put out the closest flames.

The dragon reared its head and let out an agitated puff of hot air, not that distracted anymore by the compelling smell of Newt’s stinky cheese. Newt had his hands full with keeping the dragon from panicking or attacking, so it fell to Hermann to fend off their attackers.

The commander took them on, showing off the skills he had acquired over the many years he had spent at Gellert’s side. The worse-for-wear looking extremists didn’t stand a chance and fell to the ground, stunned, one after another. After a pause Hermann had spent listening for signs of more attackers, a lone figure could be made out coming closer through the flames and smoke all around them.

“Newt!” the figure shouted just as Hermann was about to throw a stunner its way.

Hermann halted in his attack however, when the magizoologist called back a tentative, “Thee?”

“What the hell are you doing here?!” the man called Thee exclaimed in outrage as he stepped closer, his noticeable red hair now clearly visible through the smoke surrounding him. “You stop that right now and come over here or I swear to Morgana!” the man who seemed to be Newt’s older brother shouted while pointing to a spot beside him.

Newt didn’t answer but kept soothing the nervous dragon beside him while Hermann stayed quiet, waiting to see how the situation was going to play out.

Theseus raised an arm towards Newt and shouted, “Do you even know what you’ve done running away like that?” With a furious expression on his face he added, “Do you?!” when Newt didn’t answer him.

The camp around them had turned quieter, only the sound of some smaller skirmishes remaining since most of the extremists had likely been stunned by now.

“The ministry has labelled you a wanted terrorist on the run! An international arrest warrant has been issued for you!” Theseus spat as he took another step closer and pointed an accusing finger at the magizoologist. “Do you know what a huge shame you’ve brought to our family’s name?” he added more quietly, disgust clearly visible in the downturn of his lips.

Newt stared back his brother wide-eyed, looking like he had frozen and was unable to reply. Theseus schooled his face into something looking less like an angry grimace before he addressed Newt again. “But I can still help you! If you come with me right now, your surrender will be considered in mitigation in your trial.”

Newt started shaking and backing away from his brother, a devastated look on his face. The magizoologist shook his head in negation to the auror’s offering, a few tears starting to roll down his face.

“You moronic imbecile!” Theseus spat, his collected mask dropping instantly. “Very well then. If you don’t want to come on your own, then I’ll have to make you!” the auror said as he took a threatening step closer. However, Theseus’ advance was stopped before it had even really began when Hermann stepped between the two brothers.

Theseus threw an angry spell at the man he hadn’t really paid any attention to up until now, having been too preoccupied with Newt. Hermann deftly deflected the auror’s hex, making it impact on the tattered tent poles behind Theseus. The poles exploded, sending splinters flying every which way.  

“And who are you now?” Theseus spat, irritated to be interrupted from arresting his younger brother. The auror glared at the light haired man standing between him and Newt, yet quickly assessed the new opponent at the same time.

Hermann kept stoically calm, not wanting the situation to escalate further since he had noted that the dragon behind Newt had been getting more and more agitated and it didn’t look like Newt would be able to control it for much longer.

“You don’t look like you’re with that bunch of extremists,” the auror mused. “Are you the man who has sent Newt the annoying rainbow chicken? Gilbert…or whatever your name was.”

After only receiving the silent treatment from the other man, Theseus narrowed his eyes. “You are, aren’t you?” the auror accused when he still didn’t get any reply. Theseus gestured behind Hermann towards where Newt stood. “Have you put him up to this?” he demanded to know as he pointed an accusing finger at Hermann’s chest. “I’ll make sure you’ll get what you deserve for misleading my brother who would be dumb enough to believe whatever you’ve promised him!”

Sensing that things were about to escalate, Hermann threw an urgent, “Go!” over his shoulder toward the magizoologist before he had to deflect the first curses from the older Scamander. Newt seemed to jolt out of whatever had kept him standing there petrified, since he picked up his suitcase and turned to the dragon behind him.

Hermann didn’t hear what Newt said to the dragon or if Newt had cast a spell with how busy he was fending off the angry auror without using lethal force. A minute later the commander finally managed to hit Theseus with a hex. It made the auror fly through the air for a few seconds before he impacted roughly with the ground a few meters behind where he had previously stood. Needing to gauge if Newt was ready to get out of here, Hermann threw a quick glance over his shoulder towards where the magizoologist had last been standing.

Hermann’s eyebrows rose in surprise when he noted that Newt hadn’t put the dragon into his suitcase, but was now sitting on its back instead. The dragon beat its strong wings, making the two men on the ground stumble back a few steps. Newt gave a sharp whistle and the dragon took to the air with a few more beats of its enormous wings.

“Newton!” Theseus shouted after the magizoologist, his call going unheard in all the commotion.

Hermann made sure the magizoologist would be alright on the dragon that had turned to fly to the north, steadily gaining height to further away it got. The commander threw a last glance at the battered auror who had stopped attacking and was staring after Newt and the dragon instead, his fists clenched tightly in frustration and anger.

The commander simply apparated away to the pre-appointed meeting point. Gellert was already waiting there with a hand raised over his eyes as he observed the dragon that was flying towards them.

“Everything alright?” the dark lord asked, not turning his gaze away from the sky.

“We’re fine. But there was a bit of a complication when his brother showed up out of nowhere,” Hermann replied as he gestured towards Newt and the dragon.

“Why is Newton riding that dragon?” the dark lord inquired, a puzzled frown on his forehead.

Hermann shrugged. “Don’t know, it was his call.”

The dragon had gotten close to the two of them in the meantime and was initiating a tilted downward spiral, slowing down and gliding closer to the ground. Newt grabbed an amulet-turned-portkey hanging from a chain around his neck and leaned over the dragon’s neck to peer down at the two men looking up at him. Newt held the amulet up and to the side, indicating that he was ready and that they could leave now. The two men grabbed the similar amulets hanging from their necks and the three of them vanished together with the dragon Newt was riding.

**~~~**

Hermann and Gellert arrived safely in Nurmengard’s inner courtyard and quickly searched the sky for any signs of Newt and the dragon. Not a second later a loud bang echoed though the higher reaches of the alpine valleys around them and a big shadow fell over the courtyard. With a few beats of its enormous wings, the dragon steadied itself and made to land in the courtyard.

Surprised and frightened personnel currently out and about in the courtyard, dropped whatever they had been doing and ran to seek cover under the closest roofs they could find. Guards came forward and formed a defensive position to fend off the perceived threat.

“ _Kennung grün_ **1** , stand down and let him land!” Gellert called, intervening before anyone could possibly harm the mistaken intruder.

“Yes, sir!” the guards affirmed as they lowered their wands and looked around, searching for who exactly had given the order. When they noticed their commander and the dark lord behind them, they stood at attention and watched as their two superiors stepped past them and went over to where the dragon was about to touch ground.

The dragon landed gracefully, proudly puffing and blowing. Newt kept petting the dragon’s neck and stroking its smooth scales until it stopped blowing out clouds of hot steam from its nostrils. When the dragon had relaxed and lowered its head somewhat, the magizoologist slid off its back and kept on petting and calming it from to ground.

Newt put his suitcase that he had slung over his shoulder with the use of his belt down on the ground beside him. When he stood back up, he pulled the remaining quarter of the smelly cheese wheel he had used before out of his left coat pocket. The magizoologist began feeding the dragon one piece after another, steadily leading it to his suitcase. When the dragon saw his three companions in misfortune peering up to it and noticed how unharmed and content they looked, it didn’t hesitate to follow them inside the case. Newt threw the remaining chunk of cheese in after it before he closed and picked up his infamous suitcase and turned to the men watching him.

“Are you alright?” Gellert asked gently as he stepped forward and put a hand on Newt’s shoulder.

The magizoologist didn’t look like he was too well since his hands had a slight tremor to them and he kept his eyes fixed on the ground.

“Yes, fine,” Newt mumbled, shifting on his feet and letting his eyes flit around the cobblestones restlessly.

The dark lord doubted the other’s words since Newt’s behaviour combined with the dried tear tracks on his cheeks clearly told another story. Gellert suspected Newt’s agitation had something to do with the older brother who had suddenly shown up back at the extremist’s camp.

“Can we go inside?” Newt asked quietly a few seconds later.

“Yes, of course. Do you want to retire to your room?” Gellert said, turning them to face the castles’ front entrance before he took back his hand from Newt’s shoulder. Newt glanced at Gellert out of the corner of his eyes and gave a nod in assent. The magizoologist’s lips were pressed together tightly and it looked like he had trouble keeping his composure.

They walked into the castle and up the main staircase in silence before they turned into a short corridor a few minutes later. Newt peered up when he recognized the door to the guestroom he had stayed in before. Gellert reached inside his jacket and pulled out the room’s key.

“Are you really fine, though?” Gellert asked softly when he handed the key over to Newt.

“No…but I will be.” With a shaky breath Newt added, “Just, give me a minute,” before he unlocked the door and let the both of them inside his guestroom. Newt turned his back to Gellert and went to put the key away in a small bowl sitting on the sideboard across the room. Newt took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack. After that he wiped a hand across his face and Gellert noticed that it came away wet.

Gellert wanted to go over to the other and take him into his arms to offer some comfort. However, Newt had asked him to give him a minute and Gellert would respect his wish. Newt kept his face hidden from the dark lord as he went over to the fireplace and got a small fire going. The German sensed that the other preferred this semblance of privacy and therefore decided to keep his distance.

Gellert went over to the bedside table and conjured up a set of teacups and a teapot. After he had filled the pot with water and spelled it to heat up, he dropped in 4 teabags of chamomile tea. He kept pretending to busy himself with the tea, occasionally stirring the teabags around, until Newt came over to him a short while later.  

Gellert straightened up from where he had leaned over to peer into the teapot and turned to the man now standing a few steps behind him. The magizoologist’s reddened eyes made it obvious that he had just been crying but the shaking of his hands and tremor in his breath were absent and Newt looked like he had overcome his outburst of emotions.

Gellert returned the other man’s small smile with one of his own and nodded towards the bed, indicating that Newt should sit down on it. When the magizoologist put down his case and proceeded to do just so, Gellert turned back around and poured each of them a cup of the tea he had prepared.

When the dark lord handed the other his cup, he noted that Newt had taken off his shoes and was now sitting on the bed cross-legged and tightly wrapped up in the duvet.

“Thanks,” Newt said with small smile as he took the cup from Gellert. Newt cradled the teacup in one hand before he used his other hand to pat the empty spot on the bed beside him.

Gellert’ eyebrows rose slightly and he gave the redhead an amused smile, but sat down exactly where Newt had indicated. The magizoologist took a whiff of his still steaming tea and closed his eyes, delighting in the soothing smell of a hot cup of tea after the stress of the last couple of hours. When Newt reopened his eyes, he noticed that Gellert was studying him. Waiting for the other to voice his thoughts, Newt took a small sip of his tea.

“Are you cold?” Gellert asked eventually, glancing at Newt’s duvet-cocoon.

“Just a bit, but the fire will heat up the room soon,” Newt replied as he blew on his tea.

“Do you want me to…,” Gellert started and made a gesture as if to cast a heating spell around them.

“Oh, no that’s not necessary! The duvet is much cosier anyway,” Newt replied with a small smile, before he started to unwrap himself from his cocoon. After rearranging one half of the duvet to fall over his own shoulders, Newt draped the other half over the shoulders of the man sitting beside him. When the magizoologist was done, he uncrossed his legs and folded them up beside himself instead. Newt leaned closer to Gellert until their shoulders gently brushed together.

Both men enjoyed the comfortable silence that had settled over them. They appreciated the soothing calm this simple closeness to one another had elicited in them. Their stillness was only broken by the occasional sips they took from their teacups.

A couple of minutes later, Newt set down his emptied teacup on the mattress before him and started to tell Gellert what had happened after they had split up to rescue the dragons. The dark lord listened silently as Newt retold how he had nearly gotten all the dragons into his case before his brother had suddenly shown up.

Newt gave the man beside him a bitter smile. “Turns out I’m a wanted man now as well as a complete disgrace to my family’s name,” Newt mused before he added self-deprecatingly, “Not that I wasn’t before…But, this time it just feels more final, I guess. Like, there’s no going back to how things have been,” the magizoologist voiced his thoughts.

Newt rested his head against Gellert’s shoulder and started to giggle. “Is it strange that I’m still somehow really happy right now?”

Gellert put his arm around Newt’s back and tilted his head, pondering on his answer while he let Newt’s soft red curls caress his cheek.

“Some drawn-out conflicts have finally been addressed today and I think everyone has made their standpoints clear,” Gellert mused. “Knowing where you stand can be quite the relief if you haven’t felt like you’ve had any solid ground under your feet for a while.”

“Yeah, maybe…” Newt ruminated before he gave a short laugh. “We’re probably England’s most wanted number 1 and 2 right now… Who’d have thought that?” Newt asked, letting out a bitter chuckle.

“Life is incomprehensible sometimes,” Gellert breathed quietly into Newt’s curls. “But from time to time you help a diricawl or some dragons in need…and when you lay in bed later that day you’ll think: ‘ _Not bad, the day could have been worse’_.”

“Yes, the dragons are definitely something,” Newt mumbled in agreement.

“A predictable life without surprises would be a pretty boring one, don’t you think?” Gellert mused as he lightly stroked the thumb of the arm he had around Newt up and down the redhead’s flank.

“Yeah,” Newt agreed thoughtfully. After few seconds of silence Newt lifted his head from Gellert’s shoulder and sat up a little straighter. Before he could consider the consequences of what he was about to do, he raised a hand to Gellert’s jaw and leaned forward to give him a peck on the corner of his mouth.

“Thanks,” Newt whispered with a shy smile. He briefly stroked his fingers up the other man’s jaw before he let them drop back down again. A light blush was colouring Newt’s cheeks when he leaned back some more, averting Gellert’s eyes and nervously biting his lower lip.

“What for?” Gellert asked in bewilderment.

Newt worried he might have overstepped with the peck, so he pulled up his shoulders slightly before he peeked back at the other. “For helping me and for listening when I needed someone to talk to?” Newt replied, his answer more question than statement.

Gellert smiled back widely at the man beside him and let out an amused snort. “Oh Newt, believe me, it was my pleasure,” Gellert reassured warmly. He pulled Newt closer to himself before he returned the affection and kissed Newt on the forehead, close to his hairline. “You don’t have to thank me for every little thing though, you know?”

“Well, I wouldn’t call rescuing dragons together ‘little’, but whatever you say…” Newt replied, relieved that his worries had been unfounded. When Gellert started laughing, Newt looked up and grinned widely. The magizoologist was delighted by how relaxed and untroubled the usually guarded man looked right now.

Newt reached over and quickly ruffled Gellert’s hair, destroying his neatly styled hairdo. At the exaggerated look of affront on Gellert’ face Newt failed to stifle his chuckles behind his hand and laughed loudly instead.

“What was that for?” Gellert asked with his eyebrows raised high, his free hand gesticulating in mock indignation.

“You forgot to hand out biscuits with the tea,” Newt replied, trying to sound peeved but failing completely.

“Oh, dear!” the dark lord exclaimed in a high pitched tone of voice. “How can I ever atone for my grave sins?” Gellert asked as he overdramatically dug the fingers of one hand into the front of his jacket, right over the spot where his heart was. Newt was overcome by another bout of laughter at the other’s over the top theatrical performance.

The magizoologist needed a minute before he had calmed down enough to formulate a reply. “You could help me with the evening-time feeding round if you want to?” Newt said eventually.

“Alright, deal,” Gellert accepted readily.

“Well, we’d better get going then if we don’t want them to start a riot because their food’s been late,” Newt replied with a wide smile. He freed himself from the duvet and got up from the bed, Gellert following behind him.

The two men went down into the suitcase and dealt out the feeding rations. Working together rather well, they kept up a light conversation as they made their way from one habitat to the next. When they were done and everything was prepared for tomorrow, they came back out of the case and wished each other a good night before Gellert left to retire to his own rooms.

****

**_~ The following day in England ~_ **

****

Theseus sat at his desk and went through the folders he had amassed on top of it. As soon as he had gotten back to the ministry the evening after the failed retrieval of his brother, Theseus had searched for the man that had been helping Newt. The auror had requested any information the ministry’s archive had on men with the name of this supposed ‘Gilbert’ he had met in Ukraine.

For the whole morning Theseus had gone through the folders of men called Gilbert but his search hadn’t yielded any results. Frustrated, the auror put the folders aside and went to get coffee and to rethink his research strategy. Maybe he had been too focused on the name Newt had given him that evening when he had visited him together with Percival.

Assuming the name might be a fake, Theseus went over the things he knew of the man he was searching for. The most helpful thing was that he knew what the man looked like and that the man had spoken with a slight Germanic accent. That narrowed his search down considerably to men most likely from Germany, Austria or Switzerland. Besides that, Theseus knew the man to be a respectable opponent with at least advanced skills in duelling and no qualms to attack an auror.

This meant the man had very likely been in conflict with the law before, so the probability that the ministry had something on him was high. With these new search criteria in mind, Theseus returned to the archives and searched for any men fitting the new profile he had worked out.

Theseus didn’t have to search long, when the folder on one of Grindelwald’s more prominent followers fell into his hands. The auror’s mouth fell open when he instantly recognized the man he was searching for on the two photographs they had of him in his file. Frowning in bewilderment at the unexpected turn his search had taken, Theseus went over the data the ministry had on this man called Hermann Brandt.

Theseus’ frown got deeper and deeper the more he learned about the man that had been helping and defending Newt in Ukraine. His file said that he was a follower of Grindelwald and that he held a very high rank in the dark lord’s organisation at that. Theseus took the file with him and went back to his office, wondering what kind of trouble his foolish little brother had gotten himself into this time.

**~~~**

**1** \- Code word green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for more adorableness and fluff when Gellert’s going to ask Newt out on a date next chapter. 
> 
> I feel like the song ‘Up in flames’ from Years & Years [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4jHoEPqSQc) sums up this chapter pretty well.


	10. Can't stop so shut your mouth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big shout out for everyone who has commented, left kudos, bookmarked or subscribed. Thank you so much, you’re the best readers I could have hoped for!

A few days after the rescue mission in Ukraine, the four new dragons had settled in nicely in their new home in Newt’s suitcase. The magizoologist was happy with how their recovery was proceeding and was optimistic that they could be returned into the wild in the not too distant future.

Newt was currently in the courtyard and had just finished playing with the baby dragon when a young, light haired woman waved at him from the passage to Nurmengard’s inner gates.

“Hello!” the girl shouted before she jogged over, grinning widely. “You must be Newton?” she asked excitedly as she came to a stop a few meters before Newt and the dragon.

“Um, yeah, that’s me,” the shorttaken magizoologist replied, giving the woman a small smile.

“Oh, wow! It’s so nice to meet you! Is that a Ukrainian ironbelly?” she asked as she made cooing noises at the curious baby dragon beside Newt.

“Yeah, she is,” Newt replied, still unsure as to what was going on at the moment.

“Oh, you’re a girl!” the young woman exclaimed, addressing the baby dragon in a high pitched voice. “Holy Morgana, you are so cute! Yes, so cute!” The excited young woman hastily turned back to Newt. “Can I pet her? Please, please, please? I always wanted to pet a dragon!” she said as she looked at Newt with begging eyes.

“Um, ok. But you have to go slow and let her come to you first. Otherwise she might get scared of you,” Newt instructed before he showed her how to best approach the baby dragon.

The young woman was petting the dragon’s head not a minute later, awed by the smooth feeling of her warm scales. The baby dragon soon lost interest in her petting however, when she failed produce any treats. Smiling widely, the young girl took a few steps back again and watched as Newt coaxed the baby dragon back into his suitcase.

“Thank you, that was amazing,” she said when the magizoologist had straightened up. “Sorry, I’ve been rude. I became so excited about the dragon that I didn’t even introduce myself! I’m Gerda Brandt. Hermann’s daughter?” Gerda said as he held out her hand towards Newt.

“Newt Scamander,” the magizoologist replied as he shyly shook Gerda’s hand. “Yeah, I’ve met your father,” Newt added with a small smile.

“It’s nice to meet you in person! After all the things I’ve heard about you from my father, I’ve been looking forward to winter break so I could come by to visit my papa at work. And when I heard you were here, I got so excited, I came here directly after school! I love animals and of course I’ve read your book. I’m a big fan!” Gerda said, overwhelming the magizoologist with her praise and shared passion for animals.

“Oh, thanks…I don’t know what to say,” Newt replied as he ducked his head, feeling shy. “It’s always nice to meet like-minded people since there don’t seem to be many who share my views on how to treat animals.” The magizoologist glanced up at Gerda, giving her a friendly smile.

“Oh no, you’re so cute…” Gerda breathed. She had put a hand on her cheek and was looking at Newt in adoration. “Now I want one too…,” she whispered quietly to herself.

“Pardon?” Newt asked, his eyebrows drawing together in puzzlement.

“Oh, nothing, nothing,” Gerda placated quickly, embarrassed that she hadn’t been as quiet as she had thought. “I was just wondering what you are doing with that old grump…But anyway, since you’re here now, I wanted to ask you something about some pixies that live in the woods behind my house. You see, I’ve been trying to befriend them for months now. But I seem to be stuck somewhere and they just won’t let me come any closer than a few meters before they flutter away. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong and I was hoping you could help me. Please?” Gerda powered on, leaving the magizoologist slightly stunned by her rapid changes of topics and the seemingly endless flow of words raining down on him.

“Yeah, I think I can help you with the pixies…,” Newt mumbled before he was interrupted.

“Gerda, give the poor man a break,” came Hermann’s friendly voice from the entrance of the castle. Newt and Gerda both turned to look as he came over to them, Gerda happily dashing forward and giving her father a hug.

“Hello, papa! Look who I’ve met!” she said, releasing Hermann and gesturing at the awkwardly smiling magizoologist standing behind her.

“Ah, so you’ve met my whirlwind of a daughter,” Hermann addressed Newt with an amused smile on his lips. “I hope she hasn’t been rude?” he added, glancing at his daughter with a mock stern look.

“Papa!” Gerda exclaimed in affront.

“No, no, she’s been quite nice…Very enthusiastic,” Newt replied, giving a grin with his last words.

Gerda turned to her father with a smug smile. “See?”

“Alright!” Hermann conceded as he raised his hands, palm out, in a placating gesture.

“We were just talking about the pixies behind our house and Newton said he could help me with them. So, can we invite him over for dinner?” Gerda asked as she tugged at the hem of her father’s jacket. “Maybe this weekend? Please!”

Hermann gave his daughter a bemused smile before he looked at Newt. “Of course you are welcome to visit us if you’d like to and when you have the time. I just hope my daughter hasn’t pressured you into anything. She can be quite mouthy,” Hermann added, giving his pouting daughter a meaningful look. “And while you’re at it,” he continued, addressing his daughter. “You can invite your godfather along as well. He’ll probably know their schedule better anyway.”

Gerda threw her head back and gave an exasperated sigh. “Oh, alright! I’ll go ask him,” she acquiesced sulkily and started to skip towards Nurmengard’s entrance.

“He’s probably still in his office,” Hermann called after her. He turned back to Newt and gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. I think she’s going through a phase or something…She’s 16,” Hermann added with a shrug as if that explained everything. “Anyway…” the commander said, taking a glance at their surroundings. “I’d be happy if you’d come. I made her invite Gellert along because I hope that’ll make it a little bit less awkward for you. Gellert’s her godfather, you see?”

“Oh…Thanks, I’d love to accept your invitation,” Newt replied before he rubbed his arm. “I’m afraid I just can’t tell you my schedule for the next few weeks…I’ll have to talk to Gellert. I have some animals in my case that are ready to be released back into the wild and that is going to require some traveling.”  

“Well, I’m sure Gellert will be happy to accompany you on your trips and that you’ll be able to work out a day when you’re both free to come visit us,” Hermann replied. The commander gave Newt a pat on the arm and a rueful smile. “I’ll have to go now, though. Damage control, you see? I’ll probably have to save some poor cadet who has caught my daughter’s eye from being pressured into dating her.” With that Hermann turned and went after his daughter, leaving Newt standing in the courtyard, still wondering what had just happened.

**~~~**

That same evening, Gellert and Newt were eating dinner together in the dark lord’s office. They had just finished and Newt had picked up his tea as Gellert sipped from his glass of wine.

“So, your Gerda’s godfather,” Newt remarked.

“Yeah, me and Hermann go way back, you know. We’ve already been friends before he had even met his wife,” Gellert replied. “I don’t really know what made him ask _me_ of all people to be godfather to his first daughter, though. But I said yes and here we are now,” Gellert explained with a grin. He had nonchalantly spread his arms in a gesture of bafflement that had Newt chuckling in response.

Gellert grinned back at Newt and took another sip of his wine before he changed the topic. “Now that you’re here, in Germany I mean, how about I show you some more of Germany’s lovely sights?” Gellert said before he gave Newt a warm smile. “Would you like to accompany me to dinner and a stroll through Heidelberg tomorrow?”

“I’d love to! I’ve heard so many good things about the beautiful towns in south-western Germany. But unfortunately I just never seemed to have had the time to visit them…That is until now,” Newt replied, a happy smile lighting up his face.

“I’ll be looking forward to tomorrow then,” Gellert replied, pleased that Newt had accepted his invitation.

 

**_~ The next evening, somewhere in Heidelberg ~_ **

 

Newt and Gellert were sitting in a cosy, small restaurant. They had a little private niche to themselves, mostly parted off from the few other guests. Gellert had known the owner of the restaurant for a long time, therefore it was no problem to secure a table at such a short notice. Through the window beside their table, the two of them had a nice view on the river Neckar that cut Heidelberg into two half’s.

They had just finished their lovely meal consisting of a regional variation of vegetable gratin for the main course and chocolate cake for dessert. Completely stuffed, they got up from their chairs to get their coats. Gellert helped Newt into his coat before Newt turned to him and asked where the loo was.

“It’s out the front door and directly across the atrium. You can’t miss it,” Gellert replied. “Go ahead, I’ll pay and then wait for you outside, ok?”

“Thanks, but…” was all Newt managed to reply. Gellert, who had known Newt would raise a protest at him paying their cheque, cut the other man’s words short by raising a finger to Newt’s lips.

“Ah-Ah. I invited you, so I’m paying,” Gellert explained before taking his finger back. “Shoo now and don’t worry about it,” he added with a cheeky grin while making a shooing gesture with his hands.

Newt raised his eyebrows but quickly ceased his protests and instead grinned back at the dark lord, amused by the other’s pert behaviour.

“Alright. See you in a minute,” Newt replied before he turned and stepped outside.

The magizoologist noted that it had gotten dark while they had been eating.  The restaurant’s atrium had been lit up with lanterns hanging from the beams of its low-hanging roof.  

Newt had just relieved himself and was washing his hands, when a drunk-looking man threw open the door to the men’s restroom.

“ _Hey du kleiner Hurensohn, was schaust‘s denn so blöd?”_ **1** the man reeking of alcohol slurred.

Newt stumbled back a step, taken by surprise by the other man’s aggressive tone of voice. “I…I’m sorry I don’t speak german,” Newt replied quietly, hoping the stranger had mistaken him for someone else. “I don’t want any trouble. Please excuse me,” Newt added. He gave the stranger a small smile and made to pass him to get back into the atrium.

“ _Hey, Junge!_ ” **2** the drunkard exclaimed before he made a grab for Newt’s arm.

The stranger had barely gotten a hold of the magizoologist however, when Newt raised his leg and kicked the man squarely between his legs. The drunkard bent over in pain as the air rushed out his lungs. The stranger lost his already shaky balance and fell backwards, landing outside on the ground before the loos.

Newt gave the drunkard an apologetic smile as he stepped over him and out into the atrium. In that moment Gellert came out of the restaurant. The dark lord took in the scene as he walked over to Newt. Gellert tilted his head to the side and gave Newt a questioning frown when he had reached his side.

“Yeah, I don’t know what his problem is. He just came into the restroom and shouted something in german at me,” Newt explained with a helpless shrug while gesturing at the man still lying on the ground. “I kicked him between the legs when he tried to grab my arm,” Newt added.

“I see…” Gellert said before he took a step toward the drunkard that was trying to get back on his feet. The dark lord glared at the stranger and stepped closer to him until the man finally seemed to notice someone had approached him.

“ _He du, würdest du mir bitte erklären was für ein Problem du mit meinem Freund hier hast?”_ **3** Gellert asked the man, his voice having taken on a tone of false politeness.

The drunkard had managed to find his feet and was propping himself up on the wall behind him, grabbing at his hip that had likely been bruised in his fall.

_“Misch dich nicht ein, du Penner!”_ **4** the drunkard exclaimed gruffly, making Gellert’s expression lose all its false cheer. A few seconds later, the man finally managed to look up at the stony face of the person he had addressed so disrespectfully.

“ _Heilige Jungfrau Maria!_ ” **5** the drunkard squeaked in surprise when he recognised the dark lord by his mismatched eyes. The man immediately stumbled back but bumped into a post behind him, nearly falling down again. His fright seemed to lend him some temporary sobriety however and he managed to catch his fall before he turned and stumbled away as fast as his wobbly legs allowed.

Newt and Gellert watched the drunkard totter away with equal frowns on their faces.

“Did you get what he wanted?” Newt asked when the man had turned the nearest corner and vanished from their sights.

“No. I think he himself didn’t even know in his drunken haze,” the dark lord replied contemplatively.

“Poor guy, he didn’t look like he had much,” Newt mused.

“Doesn’t mean he has to get drunk and harass other people,” Gellert countered. 

“Yeah…I’d call the aurors on him if we weren’t currently on their naughty list ourselves,” Newt joked, managing to make the dark lord snort and shake his head in amusement.

“You must have had quite the good aim,” Gellert remarked a few seconds later as he glanced down at Newt’s boots.

“Well, what can I say? I guess, I had some practice,” Newt replied with a stealthy grin pulling up his lips. “On my travels I’ve been in much rougher neighbourhoods. One stumbling drunkard is barely a cause for alarm.” 

“I see…” Gellert replied before he curiously tilted his head to one side. “But where did that sudden inclination to physical violence come from, though?”

Newt shrugged. “It’s been there the whole time. Just buried somewhere in here,” Newt replied with an unconcerned smile as he gestured at his chest.  

“Well, colour me surprised,” Gellert said, smiling warmly at the man beside him. “Regardless of your self-defence skills,” the dark lord continued as he genteelly offered Newt his arm, ”Would you allow me to escort you through these mildly dangerous streets for a tour of this small german town, Mr. Scamander?”

“I’d be delighted to accept your noble offer of companionship, Mr. Grindelwald,” Newt replied with an equally courtly choice of words. “Please, do lead the way, my good sir!” Newt added after he had linked his arm through Gellert’s. Both of them were grinning widely at each other when they left the restaurant’s atrium and stepped into the cosily lit streets of old town Heidelberg.   

They wandered unhurriedly through narrow alleys and passed by some larger squares, keeping up a happy and carefree conversation the whole time. The streets were nearly empty of people considering it was nearing midnight on a work day and most people were already in their beds, fast asleep. The crisp night air kept the two wanderers awake, though. It had gotten cold enough that their breaths had started to come out in small white clouds.

Both men had dropped their arms from where they had been linked a while ago and had put their hands into their coat pockets to keep them from freezing. They kept walking closely together however, their shoulders bumping gently on occasion when Gellert pointed something out to Newt.

Gellert led Newt around another corner and they soon stepped onto one of the bridges spanning the gently flowing river Neckar. Gellert overtook Newt but turned around to face him and started walking backwards as he explained something about the university campus situated on the other shore side behind him. Gellert put the hand he had been gesturing with back into his coat pocket and they came to a stop at the middle of the bridge.

“So, no frost burn or sore feet yet?” Gellert asked with a grin.

“No, it’s cold but not that cold,” Newt replied, “and the walking kept us warm enough, I think.”

Gellert replied with a smile but glanced at something behind Newt. Newt turned his head and tried to see what had caught Gellert’s eye. “What is it?”

Gellert nodded toward the road by the shore that led to the bridge they were standing on. “See those two people over there? They’re aurors and they look like they are searching for something…or someone.”

Newt finally spotted the two figures on the shadowy road as they were moving closer to them. “Oh…” Newt remarked as he glanced back at Gellert.

“Exactly. What do you say we get somewhere warmer?” Gellert asked, unconcerned by the two figures that had come to a stop. One of them was pointing at where he and Newt were standing when Gellert held out his hand in invitation to Newt.

“Good idea,” Newt replied and didn’t hesitate to take the offered hand. Newt threw a glance over his shoulder at the two men that had started running towards them.

When Newt looked back at Gellert, the dark lord gave him a mischievous grin before he glanced back at the two aurors who had just stepped onto the bridge. Gellert waited another second, then apparated himself and Newt away when he was sure that the two aurors had gotten a good look at his face.

**~~~**

They both reappeared back in Nurmengard, in a corridor not far from Newt’s guest room.

“What was the grinning and hesitating for?” Newt asked curiously as he let go of Gellert’s hand.

Gellert put his hands into his coat pockets before he smirked. “Oh, I wanted them to get a good look at my face before we apparated away.”

Newt’s forehead wrinkled in puzzlement. “Why?”

“So they can definitely confirm it was me they had been chasing. I’d imagine it’ll keep them guessing on what I’ve been doing in Heidelberg at least for a month, if not two,” Gellert explained gleefully. “And while they’re so busy searching for me over there, it’ll keep their focus away from elsewhere.”

“Quite cunning,” Newt remarked, impressed by the constant strategizing and planning Gellert seemed to run in the background of his mind.

“I dare say, I do have my moments,” Gellert replied, giving Newt a wink.

Newt gave the dark lord an eye-roll before he turned around and started to walk towards his guestroom. “That kind of self-confidence is going to come back to bite you one day,” Newt threw back over his shoulder.

“If it’ll be you doing the biting, then I will look forward to it,” Gellert shot back.

Newt stopped and turned to the man behind him with a mock indignant expression on his face. Newt lifted a finger before he started to scold the other, “Now you listen here…”

Newt didn’t get much further however, since the fondly grinning dark lord closed the distance between them and put a hand on Newt’s hip. Gellert pulled the redhead closer to himself and shut him up with a soft kiss on the mouth.

Newt, who had been completely blindsided by the kiss, didn’t react for the second it took his brain to process what was happening. When his brain had caught up with the current events however, Newt started to flush beet red, much to Gellert’s amusement.

“You were saying?” Gellert whispered, still standing so close by Newt that their breaths were mingling with one another.

Newt just opened and closed his mouth like a fish and Gellert had to supress a grin at the other’s speechlessness.

“Not fair!” Newt managed to get out eventually. The way he kept leaning into Gellert however, betrayed any attempt Newt had made to sound like he was peeved by the dark lord’s behaviour.

“Didn’t know we were playing fair,” Gellert muttered. When Newt made to reply, Gellert simply used the same tactic as before and shut him up with another gentle kiss. This time Newt seemed to be more ready for it since he lightly pressed his lips back against Gellert’s. The dark lord put a hand on Newt’s cheek, softly cradling it, before he broke the kiss.

“Thank you for the lovely evening, Newt,” Gellert said as he stroked an unruly curl behind Newt’s ear. “I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.”

“Yeah, I think I did,” Newt replied, a warm smile on his face.

“Good,” Gellert said, before taking a step back from the flustered magizoologist. “Have a good night then.”

“Yeah, you too,” Newt replied with a bashful smile before he reached into his pocket and took out his room-key.

Gellert put his hands into his trousers’ pockets and watched as Newt turned around and unlocked the door to his guestroom. Gellert smiled back gently, when Newt gave him a last wave before closing the door behind himself.

The dark lord lingered in the hallway for another few seconds before he turned and made his way to his own rooms, smiling the whole way.

 

**~~~**

**1** \- Hey you little son of a whore, what are you looking at?

**2** \- Hey, boy!

**3** \- Hey you, could you please explain to me what kind of problem you seem to have with my friend here?

**4** \- Don’t get involved, you hobo!

**5** \- Blessed Virgin Mary!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gellert, stop worrying about Newt! Didn’t you see how he defeated the mighty german drunkard? …jk, never stop worrying please!
> 
> But jokes aside, in this chapter I wanted to show how Newt gets more comfortable with his new life as a wanted man and that he starts to somewhat explore the freedom it efforts him. I think that as Newt gets surer of himself, he’ll show more and more sides of himself that he had kept hidden or supressed so far. Same goes for Gellert, who’s icy demeanour gets thawed up as well.
> 
> The author’s song recommendation of the day is: Ariana Grande - No tears left to cry [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffxKSjUwKdU)


	11. Sit here and watch the sunlight fade

A few days after their stroll through Heidelberg, Newt was outside in the courtyard, training his animals as usual. Over the last few weeks the magizoologist had stayed at Nurmengard, the personnel had gotten used to him and the menagerie of beasts he took care of. However, that didn’t mean that every time Newt took one of his fosterlings out to play, a small group of spectators wouldn’t gather to watch him.

The various guards, maids and other personnel always had some flimsy excuse why they had to be in the courtyard at the same time their new resident magizoologist was there as well. But so far, nobody had asked or seemed to take notice of the spectators regularly gathering in the courtyard.

A group of three young guards was standing by the entrance to the communal dining room. They were watching the redhead who was currently getting chased by a baby dragon.

“Dear Morgana, if he bends over one more time, I will…” the dark haired guard called Detleff said to his colleagues.

“You’ll what?” the youngest, blonde haired one asked when Detleff didn’t continue after a few seconds.

“I don’t know, Keith…”

“Don’t chicken out now!” the third guard called Ralf piped up, teasingly poking Detleff into his side.

Detleff shrugged. “I guess I might take a bit longer in the shower today?”

“You dog!” Ralf replied with a sly grin as he hit Detleff lightly on the shoulder. “I didn’t know you liked men, but tell you what,” Ralf continued and lifted his hand to point at the magizoologist still running around the courtyard, “I dare to go over there and ask him out for a drink.”

“What? No!” Detleff exclaimed. “I can’t just do that! What if he doesn’t even swing that way?”

“What, you don’t think you got it in you? Worried he’ll tell you no?” Ralf teased the other, trying to get him to do as he had dared.

“No! But…”

“But what?” Keith re-entered the conversation. “I’ll bet you three crates of beer if you go over there now and ask him out.”

Both of Detleff’s colleagues were looking at him with raised eyebrows and Detleff felt like he couldn’t back out of the dare now without appearing to be a coward.

“And if you’re successful, then you can share your new crates equally with the two of us who have helped to get you set up,” Ralf added, when Detleff still hesitated.

“Oh, alright! I’ll go and ask him!” Detleff relented to his peer’s pressure eventually. “But you two have to come with me. Make it look like we’re on patrol or something.”

“Ok, let’s go,” the other two guards agreed all too readily.

Detleff shook out his hands and took a deep breath to brace himself, before he schooled his face into a more neutral expression. His two colleagues followed behind him when he started off into the direction of the magizoologist. Detleff tried to make it look like he was just randomly patrolling and not heading towards the magizoologist in particular.

When Detleff was only a few meters away from where the redhead was currently petting his dragon, he cleared his throat.

“Hello!” Detleff called in a slightly too loud voice, managing to startle the magizoologist.

Newt peered at the three guards he had hadn’t noticed coming closer with a questioning expression. “Hello,” Newt replied quietly, “Can I help you?”

Keith stealthily nudged Detleff into the back when he took a bit too long to answer the magizoologist.

“Yes!” Detleff called out suddenly, “Yes, you can!” he said as he stumbled a few steps forward.

The baby dragon, who had quietly studied the three guards so far, didn’t seemed to like his approach however. It let out a warning growl and bared its teeth at Detleff. Detleff and his two colleagues immediately jumped back, terrified the dragon might attack them.

“It’s alright,” Newt shushed the small dragon. “They didn’t mean to startle you, Helga.” The magizoologist calmly stroked the smooth scales over the dragon’s neck. The little menace swished her tail and kept the three guards in her sight, but seemed to calm back down again after a minute. With the impending attack averted, Newt peered back in the direction of the three guards.

“Please don’t approach her like that,” the magizoologist mumbled. “Dragons will interpret your behaviour as threatening and aggressive if you come at them like that.”

The guards had kept subtly inching backwards while Newt had been talking. They felt fairly scolded by the redhead’s quiet words, even though the man hadn’t even really looked up at them.

“Anyway, what did you need help with?” Newt asked, when the guards didn’t say anything.

Detleff kept wringing his clammy hands nervously. “I, um, I was wondering, well, since you’ve been out here for a while, if you might be thirsty, maybe?” Detleff said, his voice raising higher the further he got through his question.

“No, I’m fine! I’ve still got a half full carafe over there,” Newt replied, pointing at a glass carafe sitting on a low wall a few meters behind him. “But thanks for asking.”

“No problem!” Detleff answered before he raised the corners of his mouth into something resembling a smile. “But! Maybe you might like something else than just water?” Detleff asked, proud to get even that much out after he had feared for his life only a minute prior.

“No, the water is quite fine, thanks,” the magizoologist replied.

“Oh, okay,” Detleff replied. “But! Maybe you’d like to come to the pub with us? They have a music night every Saturday. It’s always packed and the drinks are nice there,” Detleff tried one last time.

“Oh. Sorry, I’m afraid that’s a bit too crowded for me. I’d only keep you,” Newt replied with an apologetic smile.

Detleff finally admitted defeat and gave up on his hope that he’d ever have any chance to ask the cute redhead out on a date. Maybe the other just wasn’t into men and therefore didn’t pick up on his attempts at asking him out. But besides that, the whole dragon and beast stuff had turned out to be a bit too freaky for Detleff’s tastes anyway, now that he reconsidered.

“Ok, alright. We’ll…um…go and continue with our patrol then,” Detleff replied. “Have a nice day!”

“You, too!” Newt called after the guards who were suddenly in a hurry to get going. Newt shrugged. They were probably eager to continue their patrol.

****

**_~ A few minutes earlier in a strategy bureau overlooking Nurmengard’s courtyard ~_ **

****

Gellert and Hermann were going over some new reports they had gotten from their divisions all over Europe. As they were discussing their future strategies, Hermann had gotten up and started wandering around the room. When the commander passed by the window, he stopped and looked outside to where Newt was playing with his new dragon baby in the courtyard. Hermann watched curiously as three guards approached the magizoologist.

When one of the guards started talking to Newt, Hermann turned around to Gellert with a smirk on his lips.

“Uh-oh! You better watch out, Gellert! Someone’s trying to steal your man,” Hermann teased in a sing-song voice.

The dark lord looked up from where he was brooding over the newest reports and gave his right hand man a questioning frown. Hermann turned back to the window to watch what would happen next. A few seconds later he burst out into laughter before he turned back to the dark lord.

“Ah, no! Sorry, false alarm! You have no reason to worry. Helga just tried to eat your would-be competitors,” Hermann said before he burst out into another fit of laughter.  

“Good girl,” Gellert replied drily before he turned back to his reports, acting as if nothing had happened. Hermann wiped a tear from the corner of his eye from laughing this hard as he watched how the guards beat a hasty retreat a short while later.

****

**_~ The next morning in Heidelberg ~_ **

****

Yesterday Theseus had gotten a notice and an invitation from the german ministry, alerting him that there had been a sighting of Grindelwald in Heidelberg. Theseus and two of his best aurors packed their things and left for Germany the very next morning. They went because they belonged to a special international task force that investigated any crimes possibly committed by Grindelwald or his followers.

The chief auror welcomed them warmly to the german ministry’s branch office in Heidelberg and showed the three guest aurors into a conference room. The chief quickly started to explain the ongoing investigation.

“You see, two days ago around midnight we got a report that someone had seen the dark lord Grindelwald. Admittedly we were a bit doubtful of the possible witness’s accountability at first…”

“And why is that?” Theseus interjected.

“Well, Mr. Müller is a well know man here at the bureau and usually the complaints don’t come from him. Rather the opposite. People usually come to us to complain about him. You see, Mr. Müller’s an alcoholic who regularly harasses anyone he meets while he’s stumbling around town, drunk out his mind.” The chief gave his guests from England a smile. “So, you can probably imagine our surprise when two nights ago Mr. Müller comes stumbling in here, raving that he’d just seen Grindelwald.”

“Was Mr. Müller able to elaborate where he believed he’d seen Grindelwald or what Grindelwald had been doing there?” one of Theseus aurors, Mrs. Devely, asked as she looked up and paused in her notetaking.

“Mr. Müller unfortunately didn’t know exactly where he had been when he had encountered Grindelwald. He said he was just, I quote, ‘ _reprimanding a son of a whore who had kicked me in the balls_ ’. He told us that he had fallen to the ground after a man had assaulted him and when he got up another man was somehow there right before him. Mr. Müller claimed he called the second man a ‘ _hobo_ ’ before he finally recognised him to be the dark lord Grindelwald. Mr. Müller said, he then turned tail and ran straight to our bureau.”

“Ok. Strange though, that Grindelwald would just let him go. Even if Mr. Müller had been drunk, he was still a witness to whatever Grindelwald was doing here in Heidelberg. Seems kind of untypical for Grindelwald to just let him get away…and unharmed at that,” Auror Devely mused.

“Yes, that was why we had been a bit sceptical about Mr. Müller’s reports of Grindelwald being here in Heidelberg. But still, under law we are obligated to at least investigate those claims. So, I sent out two of my rookies to have a look around,” the chief elaborated. “I didn’t expect them to find anything, I thought they’d just have a quiet patrol around the old town before they’d be back in an hour. Well, you can imagine my surprise when about 35 minutes after they had left, they send out an emergency alert with a request for immediate backup. I myself and every man currently on shift arrived by their side on that bridge not half minute later.”

The chief took a quick sip of his glass of water before he continued. “My two rookies looked pale like they’d seen a ghost. They swore that only a few seconds prior Grindelwald had been standing right there on the bride together with another man. I asked them if they were sure and they both said that they had clearly identified one of the two men to be Gellert Grindelwald.”

“So going by the three separate eyewitness accounts, we can assume that it had definitely been Grindelwald that had been here two nights ago,” Theseus surmised. “But what had Grindelwald been doing when your two officers had spotted him?”

“They say Grindelwald was just standing there at the middle of the bridge. He was talking to the man that was with him. Grindelwald had been facing their way when they spotted him while the other man had had his back turned to them. My two officers sent off the alert before they started running towards the bridge. They said that the dark lord simply stood there and watched them approach. When my two men had turned the last corner and stepped onto the bridge, Grindelwald grinned at them before he apparated away together with the other man.”

The chief held up his hand. “And before you ask, we tried every trick to trace Grindelwald’s apparation, but no dice.”

“Hm, ok. Grindelwald is infamous for his appearing and vanishing without leaving any trace behind,” Theseus commented before he rubbed his chin in thought. “Anything on the man that had been with Grindelwald?”

“Well, my men described him as an inch taller than Grindelwald, but slighter in statue. The man had curls that were either a reddish brown or auburn. They couldn’t make out the colour exactly in the low lights since it had been night and my officers had been a bit more preoccupied with the threat Grindelwald presented. They don’t remember much else about his companion, except this: They noticed that the man’s dark coat wasn’t black like Grindelwald’s and neither was it grey like wool coats typically are,” the chief broke his elaboration off when Theseus dropped his pen and sprang up from his chair. The chief and the two British aurors turned to Theseus with a variation of puzzlement on their faces.

“Ah, sorry, if you’ll excuse me for a minute. I need to go and check something,” Theseus explained himself before he stepped out of the conference room.

“What’s gotten into him so suddenly?” the chief asked the two remaining aurors.

“Don’t know,” Auror Devely replied with a shrug. “But I guess we’re going to find out soon…”

**~~~**

After Theseus had stepped out of the conference room, he took a deep breath to calm down. He told himself that it was just a hunch that was bothering him. He had yet to confirm it. However, he still had a hard time to just sit there and continue with their briefing when he had picked up on so many parallels between the man that he been seen with Grindelwald and his fugitive little brother.

Needing to get clarity, Theseus went to search for the desks of the two officers that had been sent out on patrol that night. As Theseus went through the corridors, he pulled out a folder from his jacket pocket. Inside it was every detail he had amassed concerning his little brother’s run from the law. At the back of the folder there were a few photographs of Newt. Picking out two pictures that showed his brother from behind and from the side, Theseus stepped out of the corridor and between the rows of desks.  

“Hello, are you two the two officers that had spotted Grindelwald?” Theseus asked the two men whose name he had read in the report of the incident from two nights ago.

“Yeah, we are. Why you asking?” the dark haired one of them asked.

“Head auror Scamander, British ministry of magic,” Theseus introduced himself, briskly shaking the two officers’ hands. “I’m currently investigating said incident from two nights ago. You’ve seen the man that had been with Grindelwald and I’d like you to have a look at these photographs,” Theseus said as he held the two pictures of Newt out to them.

The two officers studied the pictures and pointed something out to each other before the dark haired one replied, “This guy definitely fits all the attributes of the man we’ve seen on the bridge. You see, we’ve been a bit stumped because that man’s coat defiantly hadn’t been black or dark grey. In a low light the unusual shade of blue of this guy’s coat likely fits what we’ve noticed back then.” The officer handed the pictures back to the foreign auror.

“Thank you for your help,” Theseus said, scowling down at the pictures in his hand. “Excuse me,” he added before he turned around and stomped back into the corridor.

“What a rude guy,” the dark haired officer commented when the British auror had gotten out of earshot.

Theseus passed by the men’s restroom and stormed inside, locking the door behind himself. Bristling with anger, Theseus went to the sink and gripped it tightly. “Damn it,” he muttered before he abruptly turned and kicked the bin standing beside the rack of paper towels across the room. “Bloody Fucker!” Theseus exclaimed before he took a few deep breaths.

When the auror had a better grip on his anger, he threw some cold water in his face. Theseus put the now dented bin back where it had been standing before he left the restroom and headed back to the conference room.

The three waiting occupants had busied themselves with coffee and biscuits as Theseus found out when he re-joined them. 

“Apologies for leaving so abruptly, but I needed to confirm a lead I had on the man that had been with Grindelwald,” Theseus said as he put Newt’s folder on the table before his colleagues. “Your officers have been very helpful,” Theseus commented towards the chief as he laid out the pictures he had shown to the two officers. “They gave me a confirmation that this,” Theseus said as he pointed at the photos, “could very likely be the man they’ve seen that night.”

Theseus straighten up and went to the door to pick up his coat. “The folder has all the information we got on him. While you look through it, I’ll go and do some research in your archives, see if there’s been any previous incidents that could be connected to what Grindelwald had wanted here in Heidelberg. I also want to speak to this Mr. Müller personally,” Theseus said before he turned and opened the door. “Hopefully Mr. Müller is a bit more coherent this early in the day,” was the last thing Theseus threw over his shoulder before he closed the door behind him, leaving the other three occupants of the room looking after him.

Auror Devely picked up the file Theseus had left and after perusing it shortly, her boss’s behaviour suddenly made a bit more sense to her.

“Your boss is certainly in a hurry to get going,” the chief commented.

“Ah, you’ll have to excuse him,” auror Devely spoke up. “You see, this case has turned rather personal for him. This suspect,” Mrs. Devely said as she handed the chief the short dossier of their new suspect, “did you notice his name?”

The chief looked over the dossier shortly, before his eyebrows rose. “A Mr. Newton Scamander. Curious. Is this man related to your head auror?”

“Yes, it’s his younger brother,” auror Devely confirmed. “From what I’ve gathered, the younger Scamander has always been a troublemaker, but never quite like this. A few weeks ago he broke several laws and regulations put on him by the ministry and is currently on the run. There’s an international arrest warrant out for him, but it didn’t give us any hot leads on his whereabouts yet. My boss has been searching for him intensely ever since he has disappeared. I think it plagues him not to know why his brother would do something like this.”

 

**_~ That evening at Nurmengard ~_ **

****

Gellert and Newt were once again eating dinner together in Gellert’s office, as had somehow become their habit. When they had finished, Gellert turned toward Newt and asked him about Gerda’s invitation to come visit the Brandt’s.

“Oh, yeah, that was really nice of her,” Newt replied. “I just couldn’t give her a date when I’d be free. You see, I have some animals I rescued a few months ago that are going to need to be released back into the wild. Their habitats are getting too small for them, now that they’re all healed up again.”

“Where would you need to go to release them?” Gellert asked curiously.

“Somewhere Mediterranean with dry and mild winters and some access to seawater.”

Gellert leaned back in his chair and seemed to go over some things in his head before he asked, “Would the Toscana in Italy do?”

“Yeah, that’ll be fine. Why?” Newt replied.

“I was planning to meet with some of my men from southern Europe to discuss some things. I thought I might connect that trip with the trip you need to make. Italy just seemed like the best destination to me,” Gellert explained readily.

“Ok, sounds good. When could we go?” the magizoologist asked.

“Will tomorrow afternoon leave you with enough time to prepare what you’re going to need to take with you?”

“Yes, that’s more than enough time! Once we’re there, I’ll just need a day or two. I expect the reintroductions of my animals into their natural habitats to be easy, since I’ve had ample time to get them ready for this.”

“Very well, we’ll make our trip south tomorrow then,” Gellert fixed their travel plans. “We’ll stay for two or three days, before we’ll return back here.” With an absent wave of his hand, Gellert cast a spell that transported their dirty dishes back to the kitchens. “The following weekend might be a good time to visit Hermann and his family. Or do you have any other plans?”

“No, I don’t. That weekend would be a good time if Hermann and his family are free there too.”

“I’ll ask him next time I see him then,” Gellert replied before he set his emptied wine glass down on his desk. “There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about, though.”

Newt simply raised his eyebrows, indicating for Gellert to ask away.

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the personnel has set up a betting pool about what kind of relationship we seem to have with each other,” Gellert said.

“Uhm, I didn’t know that…” Newt commented. He was surprised that people seemed to care so much about what he was doing here at Nurmengard.

“The two leading bets are that either I’ve recruited you for your creatures, or that you simply seem to be a close friend of mine,” Gellert elaborated, an amused smile playing around his lips. “I hope we both know that those two options don’t reflect our reality,” he added. Gellert was worried that Newt might still harbour some suspicions that he would ever plan to use the magizoologist’s animals for his own purposes.

“No, they really don’t,” Newt assented.

Relieved, Gellert continued, “They’re going to keep watching us and I’m sure that sooner or later they’ll catch on to things. That’s why I wanted to ask how comfortable you’d be with others knowing about us? I’d understand if you’d rather like to keep these things private,” Gellert added quickly, before leaning back in his chair. “I’ll go along with whatever you prefer. Our kind of relation might not be illegal, but it’s still heavily frowned upon and far from being accepted as something natural.”

“Oh, ok. I’m aware that those outdated views are still prevalent, but still, I wouldn’t really mind people knowing about us,” Newt replied after a thoughtful pause. “The truth will remain the truth, whether others know it or not,” he added with a shrug.

Gellert regarded the redhead with a warm smile. “Well spoken,” he said, pleasantly surprised that the redhead felt this comfortable with the idea of the nature of their relationship being known.

“Thanks,” Newt replied. “Are there any guesses in that bet that go into the right direction?” he asked, curious to know what impression others had of him and Gellert.

“Yeah, but it’s one of the least popular options,” Gellert replied.

“Hmm, I see…” Newt trailed off, mulling something over. “That would mean the winnings would be quite high if the unpopular option turned out to be the true one, right?”

“Yeah, probably. With that many people invested in the bet, I’d say so, yes,” Gellert answered, head tilted in question. “Why are you asking?”

“Oh, I’m just curious,” Newt said, trying to downplay the interest that had caused him to ask that question.

Gellert looked through Newt’s attempts at evasion easily, but he let the magizoologist get away with it. The dark lord was curious what kind of thoughts or ideas had prompted Newt’s last question. But he guessed he had to be patient and find out when, or if Newt ever decided to let him in on his plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter Newt and Gellert are going on a nice little holiday/business trip to Italy, yay!  
> As for this chapter, I’d like to recommend the following song: Hozier - No plan [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXq_J29V5Io)


	12. I just want the devil to hate me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of their trip to Italy. Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI I did a bit of rework on the remaining chapters and among other things I decided to split some of the rather long ones (>5k words) up into two separate chapters. Except for a few additions the fic has kept its word count, but the all over chapter count has risen as a result.

**_~ Two days later, somewhere in the Toscana, Italy ~_ **

It was mid-afternoon when Newt got back to the remote finca he and Gellert were staying at while in Italy. The rustic main building was sitting castle-like on top of a gentle hill and was surrounded by vineyards on all sides. Newt returned from the sea where he had successfully released his last batch of healed fosterlings back into the wild. Since the weather was so nice, Newt had decided to walk the last few kilometres home. When he came close to the wall spanning the finca, the entrance gate opened before he even had to knock.

“Welcome back, signore!” the guards greeted Newt warmly.

“Thanks,” Newt replied, a shy smile on his lips. The guards gave the magizoologist a respectful inclination of their heads when he passed by them.

Newt didn’t really notice though and went ahead to where he knew the kitchens were. He wanted to pick up some light dinner he could take with him. Newt knocked on the ajar door to the nearly empty communal dining room. The only occupants, three officers going by their uniforms, looked over. When they recognised the redhead standing in the doorway, they immediately got up from their chairs.

“Scusi! Sir, what can we help you with?” the guard with one stripe more on his jacket than the other two asked as he came to a stop before the magizoologist.

“Oh, um, sorry to disturb you,” the magizoologist mumbled as he fidgeted with the handle of his suitcase.

“Sir, there’s no need to apologize!” the highest ranking officer said with a puzzled frown on his forehead. “We’re here to help you with whatever you might need, sir.”

Newt pointed reluctantly at the kitchen adjacent to the communal dining room, “I just wanted to make myself a sandwich,” Newt explained, avoiding any eye contact. “I think I can manage alone.”

“If you say so, sir. But please let us know anytime if that changes.” The guards made way for Newt to pass by them. They gave the magizoologist a nod before the officer excused himself and his two colleagues. The three guards stepped outside and left Newt alone in the communal dining room. The magizoologist felt somewhat embarrassed by all the attention he seemed to get from the personnel that seemed very eager to help him.

Shrugging, Newt went ahead and quickly fixed himself a sandwich. He picked up an apple before he walked back to his room. Once there, Newt sat down his case by his bed before he took off his jacket and the vest he had been wearing. The warm climate in this part of Italy hadn’t necessitated him to wear his wool coat, even though spring had barely started. In the warmth of the afternoon sun, one didn’t even need a jacket. For added comfort, Newt opened the two topmost buttons of his shirt before he picked up a book and his dinner before he went outside onto the terrace overlooking the wide stretches of vineyards that surrounded the whole finca.

He picked out a nice, sunny spot on one of the stone blocks placed there for seating purposes. He sat down, got comfortable and began to read his book as he tucked into his dinner. Half an hour later, when the sun had gotten too hot in his face, Newt lay down on his belly and continued reading his book. Enjoying the tranquil bird songs and the chirping of crickets, Newt soaked in the warmth of the sunrays. Knowing Gellert would be in a meeting for at least another hour or two, Newt settled in for a relaxing afternoon.

As time passed, Newt got drowsier and drowsier, his eyelids beginning to droop. When the words on the page started blurring before his eyes, Newt sat the book down and rested his head in the crock of his arm. He had only meant to rest his eyes for a little bit, but he quickly fell asleep instead.

That was how Gellert found the magizoologist sleeping on that stone block after his strategy meeting had been concluded. Not wanting to wake the other, Gellert approached quietly before he sat down by Newt’s hip. For a while the dark lord simply sat and studied the magizoologist’s relaxed face. He eventually reached out a hand to gently card through the locks that had fallen over Newt’s forehead. The redhead woke a while later, blinking his eyes lazily before he peered at the man sitting beside him.

“’ello Gellert,” Newt mumbled in greeting before he yawned widely.

“Hello,” Gellert replied in a quiet tone of voice, smiling down warmly at Newt who was rousing himself from his nap. “Had a nice day?”

“Yeah, it was good. Everything worked out without a hitch. I was even able to come back earlier than I’d have thought,” Newt replied before he stretched his arms out over his head. He turned around to lay on his back and smiled up at Gellert.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Gellert said. He leaned over Newt, placed a hand beside the other’s shoulder and bent down to give Newt a gentle kiss in greeting. As Gellert sat back up again, he let the arm he had placed over Newt slide down to come to rest beside Newt’s hips. 

Newt smiled up at Gellert warmly before he asked, “How was your meeting?”

“Productive,” Gellert summarised. “We managed to come up with some good ideas on how to solve some issues that had popped up recently.” Gellert reached out with his unoccupied hand and started to lightly trace the many freckles on Newt’s face with the tip of his finger.

“Good,” Newt said. His lips pulled up in an amused smile, but he let the other man touch his face as he pleased. Newt always enjoyed these moments when Gellert let himself be seen so openly, without raising any walls or filtering his thoughts. When the other didn’t hide his emotions behind a well-crafted mask, he looked like a different man. A man happier and more untroubled, the weight on his shoulders seeming - at least temporarily - less heavy.

Gellert’s finger left Newt’s face and he started to once again play with the other man’s curls. “What have you been reading?” Gellert asked quietly, braking their silence a short while later.

Newt grinned at the man sitting propped up over him before he picked up his book and simply showed Gellert its front. Gellert read the title and had to smile that, of course, Newt had picked out a book about magical creatures.

“Read to me?” Gellert asked, smiling down at the redhead whose curls once again held the dark lord captivated.

Newt opened the book and quickly found the last page he’d been on. He cleared his throat before he began to quietly read aloud from there on. Every now and then, the magizoologist added his own comment, elaborating on something that had been mentioned in the book.

Gellert enjoyed the other’s soft voice and felt himself slowly unwinding from the last stressful days. He closed his eyes and turned his face towards the warmth of the setting sun. Continuing to sit there propped up over Newt, Gellert let himself appreciate this tranquil moment.

Occasionally Gellert needed to reopen his eyes, though. Each time he let his gaze briefly drift over their surroundings to check that nothing had changed since the last time he had so. The dark lord was simply unable to completely let go of his deeply ingrained instincts. Too many times had his vigilance and finely honed instincts saved his live back in the war. Keeping alert to his surroundings still served him pretty well, even these days.

Gellert studied Newt and once again asked himself, how someone could have gone through a war and came out of it still this kind. After all the cruelties Newt must have seen in and after the war, why was he still so trusting in people? Back in New York Gellert had been rash and had even hurt Newt, so blinded had he been by his obsession to find the obscurus. How was Newt able to not just forgive what he’d done, but to show so much trust in him now?

Gellert had noticed from the start that Newt was something special, so different from all those egoists he usually met. When Gellert had re-met the magizoologist a few weeks after New York, he knew he wanted to find out more about the peculiar redhead. After Gellert had apologized to Newt for his actions and their tentative friendship had begun, the German had become more and more intrigued with the redhead every time they had met.

The dark lord’s fascination only grew the more he got to know the shy magizoologist. When Newt had finally come to him on that evening a few weeks ago, Gellert had felt something he had lost hope for to ever experience again. In that moment, Gellert had first realised that he’d do or give up nearly everything if it would spare Newt from suffering any further pain or cruelties.

As the sun continued its descent, steadily getting closer to the Toscana’s gentle hills, Newt reached the end of the chapter he had been reading aloud from. Newt sat the book aside and looked up at Gellert questioningly. The dark lord turned to Newt with a frown on his forehead, his expression serious.

Gellert studied the other man’s open and unconcerned face for a few seconds before he voiced what was on his mind. “Do you know that there’s a lot I would do for you if only you’d ask?”

“Oh…Um, thanks. That’s very nice I think,” Newt mumbled back with a shy smile on his lips, “But you don’t have to do anything for me.”

Newt noticed how Gellert’s frown strangely only turned more troubled by his reply. The redhead decided to wait though and see if Gellert would broach the subject that really seemed to cause him trouble.

“How could you ever forgive me for New York?” the dark lord whispered eventually, his expression conflicted.  

Newt tilted his head slightly to the side and didn’t have to think about his answer before he replied in a sure tone of voice. “You apologized. You said and showed me that you regretted your actions and you promised me you wouldn’t do something like that again,” Newt said, expression equally serious now. “I believed you then and I still do so now. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”

Gellert broke their eye contact, unable to keep his agitation in check. A brief smile full of bitterness flitted over the dark lord’s lips. A moment later Gellert looked back at the patiently waiting man lying beside where he sat.

“Why can you just say that so honestly?” Gellert asked in astonishment, a little bit of distress shining through in his gaze. “How can you be so forgiving and kind?”

Newt gave Gellert a gentle smile in reply before he scooted back a bit and sat up. The magizoologist had to admit he was quite moved by the other’s open admission of the insecurities that seemed to plague him. Newt reached out a hand and gently smoothed Gellert’s furrowed eyebrows.

“I don’t know”, Newt whispered as he let his hand trail down over Gellert’s cheek. “I just am,” Newt added with a light shrug, one corner of his lips pulled up in a sheepish grin. “I try not to let bad things get to me. I rather try to focus on what can be done in the here and now. I want to make a bad situation more bearable for the innocent participants who got sucked into it. Me getting angry and bitter wouldn’t help those who need help the most.”

Gellert shook his head in disbelieve that such an extraordinary man had somehow decided to get involved with him. Smiling widely and letting out a chuckle, Gellert lent forward and rested his head on Newt’s shoulder. “You really are something else! Have I told you that?”

“I think you already mentioned it,” Newt replied as he put an arm around the man leaning against him. After a few quiet seconds Newt mumbled, “You should laugh more often. It might even help you with your cause, you know?”

“How so?” Gellert asked after he had sat back up a little to peer at Newt’s profile.

“Well, it helped with changing my opinion of you,” Newt admitted, “and I think it might do so for other people as well. I guess, being a bit friendlier just shows that you are more a man who wants to change something, instead of a fanatical extremist who’s out to hurt people.”

“Ok,” Gellert replied thoughtfully. “I’ll try to take your advice to heart.”

“Thanks. It’s just that I think that more people would agree with you if they could just see more clearly the reason why you’re doing what you do,” Newt said. “For example: The anonymous man that dropped off two Mafiosi bosses in front of the British ministry got a lot of positive reception from the public for his deed. The ministry meanwhile got backlash for their inability to effectively fight organised crime.”

“You think that showing the authorities up is what will make people see what is wrong with our current society?” Gellert asked, pondering Newt’s suggestion.

“Well, it certainly wouldn’t hurt,” Newt answered with a grin on his lips.

“True.” Gellert smiled back fondly before he glanced at the small part of the setting sun that was still visible over the horizon. Newt followed his gaze.

“It’s getting late,” Gellert remarked.

“Yeah, we should probably head inside,” Newt said.

They both got up from the stone block they had been sitting on and started to head back to their rooms.  

“I could just fall into bed and continue where I have left off with my nap,” Newt joked as they were walking toward the finca side by side.

“In that case I wouldn’t want to keep you any further. Have a good night and see you tomorrow,” Gellert said when they came to a stop by the entrance to Newt’s room.

“Thanks, you too!” Newt said before he gave the other a peck on the cheek. Newt opened his door, throwing a last smile over his shoulder at Gellert before he stepped inside his room. Gellert returned the smile and waited until Newt had closed the door before he headed to his own room, still contemplating Newt’s advice from earlier.

**~~~**

The next morning Gellert and Newt had their breakfast outside on the terrace that was directly connected to Newt’s room. 

“You know,” Gellert started when they were nearly done with eating. “I’ve been thinking about what you’ve said yesterday,” Gellert said, making Newt pause in his eating to look up at him. “I think you were right and I want to implement your tips. I might even have a good idea on where to get started.”

“Oh, wow. Now I’m feeling kind of flattered,” Newt mumbled. He ducked his head shyly, a light blush creeping up on his cheeks.

“You can be,” Gellert said, grinning at the other man’s behaviour that could only be described as adorable. “Now, were was I? Ah, yes! In my meetings over the last few days I’ve learned that there’s a yacht by the name of ‘ _Bella Bianca’_ currently laying at anchor before Sicily’s coast.”

“Okay?” Newt asked, waiting for the other to elaborate.

“I’ve cross-referenced its name with other boats frequenting the coasts between Tunisia and Italy. There are not many boats, not to mention yachts, registered under that name that are also sailing under the Tunisian flag. The most prominent one would be the luxury yacht of one Karim al Bashir. He’s a disgusting little man that got rich mostly from the human trafficking ring he founded,” Gellert explained before he emptied his cup of coffee.

“And you’re mentioning this why?” Newt asked curiously.

“Well, I’m feeling kind of chipper this morning,” Gellert said with a grin. “And I think that that trafficker might be a good point to get started with the showing authorities up and having fun thing you’ve suggested. Because you see, yesterday I’ve learned something rather juicy about the Sicilian ministry’s head auror.”

“Oh, and what would that be?” Newt asked, leaning forward with a conspiratorial grin pulling up his lips.

Gellert stood up from his chair and offered Newt his hand. “Come with me and find out,” he invited, smiling widely at the redhead.

“Alright, I’ll bite,” Newt said before he got up as well and took the dark lord’s offered hand. Gellert grabbed a teaspoon and the small sugar bowl from their breakfast table. He quickly stashed the sugar bowl in his enlarged jacket pocket before he turned the teaspoon into a portkey. The dark lord threw Newt a mischievous grin before he activated the portkey and they vanished from the terrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, no! What is this? A teensy cliff hanger!?  
> I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait another week to find out what Gellert is up to since this part about their trip to Italy has just gotten too long to put it in only 1 chapter. I guess, I simply had too much fun while writing it ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> In the meantime please consider giving the following song a listen: Dermot Kennedy - Power over me [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRe1GWzhK-w)  
> (That song was the sole inspiration for the scene on the terrace where Gellert was leaning over Newt, asking some hard questions.)


	13. Won't you get up, shaking the darkness?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of their stay in Italy aka the mischief part :D

_“Alright, I’ll bite,” Newt said before he got up as well and took the dark lord’s offered hand. Gellert grabbed a teaspoon and the small sugar bowl from their breakfast table. He quickly stashed the sugar bowl in his enlarged jacket pocket before he turned the teaspoon into a portkey. The dark lord grinned at Newt mischievously before he activated the portkey and they vanished from the terrace._

_~~~_

A second later Gellert and Newt materialised in a small alley directly across from a wizarding harbour district, where many ships were currently laying at anchor.

“Where are we?” Newt whispered quietly to the man beside him.

“Trapani, Sicily,” Gellert explained. “It a small fishing town that’s quite popular with smugglers.” Gellert pointed out a gleaming white yacht moored at a pier not far from them. “See that yacht over there?” Gellert asked. “That’s the ‘ _Bella Bianca’_ I’ve mentioned.”

“Ok. What are you going to do now?” Newt wanted to know.

Gellert turned to him with a wide grin on his face. “Oh, I’m going to show the local authorities up and I’m going to have some fun at the same time.”

“Ok, good plan. I’m all for it,” Newt replied, trusting that the other didn’t intend to do anything too brutal. “Do you need me to do anything or can I help somehow?”

“Not this time. Just watch me,” Gellert said. He gave Newt a wink before he turned around and stepped out of the ally they had arrived in. Newt watched a bit flabbergasted as Gellert simply made his way through the people currently milling about the piers. The German headed straight toward the ‘ _Bella Bianca’_ , ignoring the chaos his sudden appearance caused wherever he passed.

Newt shook his head in fond exasperation before he decided to follow the other man to see what he would do once he had reached the yacht. Newt had it a little more difficult to make his way through the mass of people however, since he had to occasionally dodge a panicking tourist or jump over some fallen luggage.

Gellert reached the pier the ‘ _Bella Bianca’_ was moored at without any trouble. Guards had stepped out onto the yacht’s deck though, alerted by the uproar Gellert had caused.

“Excuse me,” Gellert addressed them politely. “I’m looking for a Mr. Al Bashir. I came to understand this is his yacht, no?” Gellert asked as he put one of his hands into his coat pocket.

As the dark lord stepped up unto the footbridge leading onto the yacht’s deck, the guards made to attack. Gellert had expected this however and easily managed to beat them to the punch. He took his hand out of his jacket’s pocket and as he opened it, small white cubes went flying directly at the guards standing on deck. When the cubes made contact with them, the guards simply vanished into thin air with a small pop.

In the meantime Newt had finally made his way closer through the tourists and harbour workers, so he had been able to hear what Gellert had been saying. Most of the people Newt passed seemed to have calmed down somewhat when they noticed that the dark lord was ignoring them. They stood still now, watching in morbid curiosity and fascination what Grindelwald was going to do next. Newt had to elbow a few men aside who seemed to have frozen where they stood as they stared after Gellert. 

With the guards taken care of, Gellert calmly continued on his way up the footpath and stepped onto the yacht’s now empty deck. Not a second later, a man came running up the stairs that lead down into the ship’s belly. Gellert grinned widely before he loudly addressed the man.

“Karim al Bashir. Tunisia’s most successful human trafficker. It’s nice to meet you,” Gellert greeted politely.  

The dark lord’s captive audience gasped at what Gellert had revealed about the showy yacht’s owner. Mr. Al Bashir didn’t seem to be any bit amused by his unexpected visitor, going by the grim expression on his face.

“Grindelwald. What do want here?” Al Bashir asked gruffly.

“Well, I disagree with your business practices and I’ve decided to do something about it,” Gellert replied, smiling widely. 

“I’ve fought worse than you,” Al Bashir claimed arrogantly before he raised his wand threateningly toward Gellert.

“Oh, really?” the dark lord asked with raised eyebrows, nonplussed by the other man’s words. Gellert didn’t bother with taking out his wand since he knew he wouldn’t need it for this. He took a step closer and simply ducked beneath the hex he had anticipated coming his way. With a gesture of his hand, the dark lord disarmed his pathetically predictable opponent. He then vanished the trafficker’ wand to the same place he had popped the guards off to.

Gellert closed the distance between them and grabbed the shocked trafficker chokingly tight by the collar of his shirt.

“You were saying?” Gellert asked the choking man, one eyebrow raised in question.

Newt had meanwhile mostly caught up to Gellert, only one line of people separating him from the footpath leading up onto the yacht. As Newt tried to make his way through the group of people obstructing his way, one woman seemed to take offence and started to hit him with her handbag.

“Ow! Lady, please!” Newt exclaimed as he ducked and tried to shield himself from her attack.

“Filthy thief!” the enraged lady exclaimed in response.

“What? No! I’m really not! I just need to get through real quick. Please! If you wouldn’t mind,” Newt feebly tried to explain himself.

The commotion the lady had caused eventually had the dark lord glancing back at where Newt was still evading getting beat up by her handbag. The human trafficker kept making choking noises as he struggled weakly in Gellert’s firm grip.

“Ey, signora!” Gellert shouted Newt’s way. “Would you mind letting my partner here through, please? I can assure you he has no interest in stealing your fake Prada bag.”

The lady gasped in offence but she and the other people made way for the dishevelled redhead.

“Thank you,” Newt addressed them crankily as he passed by her and her companions. He rightened his shirt collar and stepped up to the footpath. “What are you doing?” he tried but failed to ask Gellert quietly.

“I’m showing this man here that I’m definitely the baddest bitch he has met so far,” Gellert replied happily with a friendly smile on his face. “He clearly lied when he claimed otherwise,” Gellert added toward the trafficker as he gave him a slight shake.

“Anyway,” Gellert said. He let his gaze briefly flit over his audience before addressing the trafficker in his grip. “I’d call the aurors and leave you in their capable hands from now on, but it seems like they’ve beat me to the punch,” Gellert announced, loud enough for the spectators to hear. With a gesture of his hand, the dark lord threw a nearby partition standing on the yacht’s deck into the water. His audience gasped loudly when a man in formal auror clothing was revealed to be cowering behind it.

“Oh, look!” Gellert exclaimed in fake surprise. “Head auror Russi is already at the scene of crime!”

Head auror Russi clumsily jumped to his feet and quickly dusted himself off. “Ehm, yeah,” he said awkwardly trying to save face, but failing utterly.

“Is it normal to have a cup of tea and a nice chat with known criminals in this part of Italy?” Gellert asked, his tone of voice biting.

“Now, this is not what it looks like!” the head auror exclaimed in a panic. Gellert rolled his eyes at the auror’s cliché excuse, throwing a disbelieving glance at Newt. The head auror finally managed to fumble out his wand and was about to do something with it when Gellert smiled at him condescendingly.

“How about you go to sleep and wait for your more capable colleagues to arrive, hm?” the dark lord mused before he offhandedly stunned the auror.

Gellert turned his attention back to the trafficker who had gone suspiciously limp in his grip. When Gellert noticed the slightly blue hue over the face of the trafficker, he loosened his grip on the man’s shirt collar a tad. Al Bashir hastily gasped in a few breaths of fresh air, some colour returning to his face. In the same moment a group of aurors finally arrived, appearing among the groups of gawping spectators.

“Let me go,” Al Bashir rasped out when he had apparently gotten enough air back into his lungs. Gellert turned his gaze back toward the Tunisian, letting his grin turn nasty.

“As you wish,” Gellert said as he released the man from his grip. The trafficker took a stumbling step before he lost his balance and tipped over backward. Al Bashir hit his head on one of the deck chairs and fell onto the deck of his yacht, unconscious. “That’s that taken care of,” Gellert mumbled to himself.

Newt, who had watched so far from the foot of the footpath, quickly dashed up onto the yacht. Gellert greeted him with a wide smile, before he peered at the stairs leading beneath the deck. Newt followed his gaze and noticed the grey smoke that had started to pour out of the ajar door at the end of the staircase. Gellert unworriedly glanced back at the advancing aurors before he grinned mischievously.

“Oh, no!” Gellert exclaimed theatrically. “It seems like there’s been an electrical shortage in the yacht’s main distribution box! What an unfortunate happenstance!” Gellert went over to where Newt was trying to stifle a snort. “We’d better abandon ship, wouldn’t you say?” Gellert said, offering his arm to his partner in crime.

“Yes, I’m sure you had absolutely nothing to do with this unfortunate accident,” Newt drawled back before he linked his arm with Gellert’s.

“Whatever are you implying?” Gellert asked in mock affront.

“Oh, nothing, nothing! I’m sure the trafficker just had an exceptionally unlucky day today,” Newt stated, a cheeky grin pulling up the corners of his lips. Gellert laughed at the magizoologist’s unexpectedly dry remark before he took out the sugar-bowl-turned-portkey from his coat pocket. After throwing a last naughty grin at the advancing aurors, Gellert activated the portkey.

**~~~**

The dark lord and his partner arrived safely back on the terrace where they had been eating breakfast only an hour before. Both men burst out into loud laughter, thusly alerting a few guards who came running to look what was going on.

“You’re an absolute menace!” Newt accused the dark lord. Gellert supported himself with a hand on Newt’s shoulder, bending over with laughter. Gellert had to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye from laughing this hard before he looked back up at Newt, who was smiling at him fondly.

“I never denied it,” Gellert replied, unrepentant of his recent actions.

“True,” Newt admitted. “But what happened to the guards from the yacht?”

“I turned the sugar cubes into portkeys,” Gellert explained with a sly grin. “The guards are probably still treading water in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. The aurors can simply go pick them up a few dozen sea miles from the coast.”

A few meters away from the two laughing men, the finca’s guards had come to a stop, watching the scene before them. They seemed a bit clueless on how to react, now that they had made sure there were no intruders.

“Well, never let it be said you aren’t creative,” Newt commented before he glanced questioningly at the four guards standing a few meters away from them.

The guards bowed their heads in greeting before the oldest one addressed them. “Scusi, sirs,” he said, “we heard a loud noise and wanted to make sure everything was alright.”

Gellert straightened back up from where he had slightly bent over from laughter and took his hand back from Newt’s shoulder.

“Everything’s fine,” Gellert assured the worried guards. “We just arrived back from a short side trip to Sicily. It was a rather amusing trip,” Gellert confided, surprising the guards with his cheery attitude.

“I’ll go and grab my suit case,” Newt excused himself quietly before he dashed off into his nearby guestroom.  

“If you say so, my lord,” the same guard who had spoken before remarked a bit uncertainly. “Many apologies for our intrusion. We’ll return to our posts right away if you don’t need anything from us?” the guard asked cautiously, unnerved by the still smiling dark lord.

“No, no. You can go,” Gellert replied distractedly as watched the magizoologist return with his suitcase in hand. The guards bowed before they beat a hasty retreat toward the closest exit from the terrace.

“All packed and ready to go!” Newt exclaimed cheerfully as came to a stop before the dark lord.

“Let’s return home then, my most favourite of accomplices,” Gellert jested, managing to make the other giggle.

“Oy, stop it!” Newt chided gently. He playfully swatted Gellert’s chest and added, “You’ve had enough fun for today!”

“What? I’m on a roll!” Gellert countered. His smile turned softer as he regarded Newt for a second. “And you just seem to bring out the best in me,” he added more seriously as he gently tugged a few unruly locks back behind Newt’s ear. Newt blushed adorably and Gellert couldn’t resist to give him a peck on the lips.

“Let’s go then, shall we?” the dark lord suggested before he pulled a pre-prepared portkey to Nurmengard from his inside pocket. When Newt replied with a nod, Gellert put an arm around the other before he activated the portkey.

**~~~**

Back on the terrace in the Toscana the young guard leaned back from where he had been peering around a corner. He turned to his colleague standing behind him with a smug smile.

“Told you they were boyfriends!” he gloated.

“Alright!” the other guard replied as he threw his hands up in defeat. “You guessed that correctly. You want me to congratulate you now or what?”

“I didn’t guess!” the other retorted, affronted by his colleague’s lack of faith in him, “I deduced!”

“Oh, of course. Let me correct myself: You’ve deduced that correctly,” the other guard replied in a condescending tone of voice.

“Don’t mock my deduction skills, Francesco! I knew from the moment Grindelwald introduced the redhead as his ‘partner’ that there was something going on between them!” the other guard stated, unconcerned by his colleague’s mockery. 

“The redhead wasn’t even there when Grindelwald introduced himself and mentioned the partner he had brought with him!” The other guard shouted back angrily, annoyed by his colleague’s constant bullshit. 

“Well, I sensed it in Grindelwald’s tone of voice then, when he spoke about that ‘partner’ of his!” the young guard tried to make up an excuse for his lack of attention to detail.

“Yeah, yeah! You keep telling yourself that,” his exasperated colleague replied before he turned and went to go pick up some lunch from the mess hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter! I’ve been looking forward to writing it and I had a lot of fun typing it out!
> 
> I wanted to show that while Newt has turned more confident and serious over the course of this fic, Gellert gets more playful and opens up some more in return. I just wanted to write something where Gellert would show a gentler and more carefree side of his that he had kept well-hidden so far.   
> Also, who’d have thought that on the side the dark lord also seemed to be a real fashion connoisseur? You better watch out, because Gellert can spot a fake Prada bag from a dozen meters away!
> 
> FYI next week its dinner time and we get to meet the rest of Hermann’s family. 
> 
> And lastly, today’s song recommendation is: Hurts - Lights [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N03wDhoXU-g)


	14. I won't hold this back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, a big thank you to the loveliest readers in the world! ♥

Just as Gellert had promised, he fixed a date for their dinner at Hermann’s home after the two of them had arrived safely back at Nurmengard. Gellert spoke to Hermann and they arranged the visit for the next Sunday, with Gellert and Newt expected to arrive in the late afternoon.

On said Sunday afternoon, Gellert fetched Newt from the guestroom the magizoologist now inhabited permanently. Gellert knocked lightly on the door and Newt opened it shortly.

“Ready to go?” Gellert asked in lieu of a greeting.

“Yep!” Newt replied cheerfully. He grinned at Gellert before he turned around and quickly locked the door to his room.

“Alright then.” Gellert offered his arm. After Newt had linked his arm with the other man’s, the dark lord apparated them both away to Hermann’s home.

**~~~**

The two men arrived on a country lane not far from an old, but well maintained farmstead. The farmstead’s main house as well as its auxiliary buildings were all build in a timber frame house style typical for this region of southern Germany.

Gellert gestured for them to make their way toward the main house. As they walked over to the farmstead, Newt watched the many piebald cows grazing peacefully on the alpine pastures around them. Soon the main house’s front door was opened and Gerda skipped over toward the two new-arrivals.

“Hi, Newt! Hi, Gellert!” Gerda called in greeting as she waved at the two men.  

Newt returned her wave with a shy smile while Gellert called, “Hello, my dear goddaughter!”

Gerda came to a stop before the magizoologist and grinned at him widely. “It so nice that you could come so soon!” she said as she enthusiastically shook Newt’s hand.

“No problem!” Newt replied, smiling shyly once his hand had been released.

Gerda gave Newt one last warm smile before she turned to Gellert, turning noticeably impertinent. “Hello, godfather.” She sneered, conveying the disrespect she felt for her godfather like only a teenager could.

“Ah, so sweet. Do you want a hug?” Gellert taunted her. The expression of revulsion on Gerda’s face was answer enough and Gellert had to supress a grin.

“Ah, I see Gerda has already found you!” a blonde woman walking toward them called. The woman was accompanied by Hermann and a blonde girl. They smiled when they reached the newcomers.

“Frieda, nice to see you!” Gellert said as he stepped towards the woman with a relaxed smile. Frieda grabbed his offered hand and pulled Gellert into a hug.

“You, too!” Frieda replied before releasing Gellert. “It’s been a while, though!”

“I’ve been busy,” Gellert tried to excuse his absence.

Frieda waved her hand in a gesture of dismissal. “Yeah, yeah, you’re always busy.”

Frieda turned toward Newt, giving him a welcoming smile, “And you must be Newton Scamander. It’s a pleasure to meet you! I’m Frieda, Hermann’s wife,” she said, shaking the magizoologist’s hand. “Welcome to our home!”

“Hello Mrs. Brandt,” Newt replied, his smile a tad nervous. “Thank you very much for the invitation.”

“Oh, dear! Call me Frieda, please! We’re all friends here!” Frieda replied jovially. “And it’s a pleasure having you!”

“Just Newt then, please,” the magizoologist answered, his smile losing most of its nervousness.

“Well, you’ve already met my husband and my oldest Gerda,” Frieda started as she laid a gentle hand on the shoulder of the girl standing beside her. “Then the only one left to introduce is my youngest, Liselotte.”

Liselotte fiddled with her dress before she reached out and shook Newt’s hand. “Hello,” she offered shyly.

“Hello there, Liselotte. It’s nice to meet you,” Newt replied gently. “I heard that you like pixies, don’t you?”

“Yes! I love them!” Liselotte replied, overcoming her shyness rapidly at the prospect of enthusing about pixies. “Gerda said that you’re an animal expert and that you could help us with getting closer to them?” she asked hopefully.

“Oh! Um, I’m not an expert for every animal,” Newt replied, feeling sheepish. “But I know a bit about pixies and I’m sure we’ll manage to get close to the ones in your forest! I’ll certainly try my best,” Newt promised.

“Awesome!” Liselotte exclaimed. She grabbed Newt’s hand and pointed at the tree line behind the farmstead. “I can show you where they live!” she added, lightly pulling on Newt’s hand.

“I’ll come with you. I want to meet them too,” Gerda piped up immediately. “Let’s go!” she added and grabbed the sleeve of Newt’s other arm.

The other three adults watched in amusement as the two girls proceeded to abduct the magizoologist. They had already managed to tow Newt a few meters away to the small path leading towards the forest, when Gellert called, “I guess, I’ll see you at dinner then,” after Newt.

“Yeah, see you,” Newt threw back over his shoulder.

“Gerda, Liselotte, behave! And come back home before its getting dark,” Frieda instructed her daughters. “And don’t make me have to send your father after you!”

“ _Ja, ja, Mama_! **1** We’re not babies anymore!” Gerda called back, turning her head back to her mother to express the exasperation she felt.

In that same moment, Gellert raised his hand and gestured at his eyes before pointing at Gerda, mouthing ‘I’m watching you’. Gerda promptly poked her tongue out in reply before the two sisters continued leading the magizoologist away from the farmstead.

“Ha, ha! They grow up so fast,” Hermann commented, as he watched how his daughters marched off with the redhead.

“Hm,” came Gellert’s non-committal reply.

“Let’s head back inside. I have to finish my lasagna,” Frieda said. Hermann and Gellert followed after her, discussing something work related.

When Frieda reached the entrance door to the main house, she turned back to the two men behind her. “And no talking about work all evening, understood?” She demanded with a stern expression.

“Sorry, dear! We’ll wrap this up shortly,” Hermann assured.

“Good,” Frieda said before she went into the kitchen to finish preparing their dinner. Her husband and Gellert joined her a few minutes later, having finished their conversation about work like they had promised.

“Smells fantastic, as always,” Gellert complimented after he had entered the kitchen.

“I know! It was me who prepared it after all,” Frieda replied with a jesting glance at her husband.

Hermann threw up his hands. “Ok, I think we all know that cooking is not one of my strengths. That’s why I’m only allowed to prepare the starter.”

“Anyway,” Frieda said as she turned back to Gellert, “don’t think you can distract me from asking the important questions!” She gestured at Gellert with a wooden spoon before she raised the topic that interested her most. “So, Newt…”

“What about him?” Gellert asked.

“What about him…duh! Why are men like this?” Frieda grumbled, her eyes turning heavenward. “I want to know everything, of course! For starters, where did you even manage to find him? I’ve known Newt for only a few minutes and I can already tell that he’s an absolute sweetheart.”

“Well, it was more the other way around,” Gellert explained, a smile hushing over his face. “Technically he found me…”

“Oh! When and where was that?” Frieda asked.

“Last year in New York…” Gellert replied.

“Wait a minute!” Frieda interrupted. “Oh my god! Of course!” she exclaimed. “I should have known! He’s the same man that found you out in New York! The magizoologist thing kinda gives it away…I don’t know why I didn’t see it sooner,” Frieda added with a shake of her head.

“Yeah, that’s him,” Gellert confirmed, smiling fondly. “And where he is, his menagerie of animals usually isn’t far.”

“Yeah, those animals of his really are something,” Hermann joined in on the conversation. “You should have seen how Newt and his nundu made a squad of trainees nearly piss themselves a few weeks ago. And then after that, when we went to Ukraine? He tamed some dragons, just like that, as if they were just some spooked horses. That man has incredible talent!” Hermann elaborated.

“Sounds like he does, indeed,” Frieda agreed to her husband’s observation. “I admit, I was a bit worried for the boy. But if he can handle nundus and dragons, I think he’ll be able to get you in line, at least somewhat, as well,” Frieda said to Gellert, before laughing at her own words. “Still,” she stated, her expression turner sterner as she addressed Gellert seriously, “if you ever hurt that boy I’ll make sure you’ll regret your actions.”

“I can’t protest,” Gellert shrugged lightly, “because that would be exactly what I’d deserve,” he said, much to the married couple’s surprise. After that, Gellert turned to the stacked dishes and cutlery behind him and set them afloat with a simple gesture of his hand. He steered the tableware out of the kitchen and over into the dining room. “I’ll go and set the table,” Gellert commented before he went after the trail of floating tableware.

“See?” Hermann said to his wife once their guest was out of earshot. “I told you he was different since he had met Newt.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Frieda affirmed. “And I think Newt’s been really good for him,” she added.

“I think so, too,” Hermann agreed before he started to prepare the salad that would be served as a starter.

“I’ll still have to see for myself if Gellert’s good for the boy as well, though,” Frieda said as she put the finishing touches to the dinner she had prepared.

**~~~**

An hour and a half later, as the sun was setting, Newt and the two girls returned from their excursion to the pixies.

“ _Hallo, Mama!_ We’re back!” Gerda shouted as she threw open the front door. After toeing off their shoes and throwing their jackets away, the two girls raced off toward the kitchen. Newt took off his shoes and coat at a more reasonable speed, placing each item neatly in their respective places, before he followed after the two girls.

“Welcome back, my darlings,” Frieda greeted her daughters.

“Mama, Mama, we’ve played with the pixies!” Liselotte announced excitedly.

“Fantastic, darling!” Frieda wiped a speck of dirt from her younger daughter’s cheek. “Was it as good as you thought it would be?”

“Yes!” came Liselotte’s prompt reply. “They are so beautiful! And we came closer to them than we’ve ever been before!”

“And you, Gerda?”  Frieda asked.

“It was really great,” Gerda answered, a soft smile playing on her lips. She turned towards Newt, who had just entered the dining room. “You gave us some fantastic tips. Thanks again,” Gerda addressed the sheepish magizoologist.

“You’re welcome,” Newt replied. “I always like to help interested people.”

Frieda went over to Newt, smiling at the redhead warmly. “You’ve made my daughters very happy, thank you. Now, come and sit,” she said as she led Newt over to the dining table. “You do certainly deserve a reward and as we have it, dinner is just about ready to be served,” Frieda said before she buzzed off into the kitchen.

“Please, take a seat everyone,” Hermann invited as he uncorked a bottle of wine. Gerda and Liselotte hurried to their regular seats, feeling quite hungry after playing with the pixies.

Gellert went and took the free seat beside Newt. “Had fun?” he inquired once seated.

With a warm smile Newt replied, “Yes, we had a great time.”

While Hermann filled some wine glasses, the first dishes left the kitchen and started to float to their respective places on the dining table. With two wine glasses in hand, Hermann went over to his guests.

“Now, Gellert, I know you have nothing against a glass of rosé,” Hermann said as he set a glass of it down besides Gellert’s plate. “But what about you, Newt?”

“I think a rosé might be sweet enough for my taste,” Newt replied.

“Ok, here you go then,” Hermann said, placing a glass of it by Newt’s plate as well.

“Thanks,” Newt replied, a smile pulling up his lips.

Gellert pointed at Newt’s wine glass. “If you don’t like it, you can just give me the rest. This is not any kind of formal dinner, after all,” Gellert assured.  

“Oh, ok,” Newt replied, glancing at Gellert with a warm smile. After Hermann had filled another two wine glasses for himself and his wife, everyone turned to where Frieda had re-entered the dining room. With a swish of her wand, she had the last of their dinner floating to its right place on the table.

Once every dish had landed safely, Frieda addressed the table. “Now, for today’s dinner we have a classic lasagna with minced meat prepared after my grandma’s recipe as well as a vegetarian spinach lasagna with seasonal vegetables. For a starter Hermann has prepared lamb’s lettuce with croutons and a balsamic vinegar dressing,” Frieda announced proudly. “Thanks everyone for being here today. I hope you’ll all like what I and my husband have prepared. And with that, _guten Appetit_ **2** and dig in!” Frieda said. She picked up her wine glass and raised it. “Cheers!” she called toward her guests.

Newt and Gellert raised their wine glasses as well and called back, “Cheers!”

After having taken a sip of the rosé, Newt found it’s taste to his liking. He told Hermann so, much to his host’s joy. After finishing the starter, everyone loaded their plates with lasagna and some of the various side dishes.

Their dinner was accompanied by happy chatting, the table never falling silent. Frieda’s daughters elaborated on their visit to the pixies, while asking Newt more questions about other animals. Frieda and Hermann mentioned some funny anecdotes from their daily life and Frieda asked Gellert and Newt about the incident in Sicily they had read about in the newspaper. Gellert retold the whole story with Newt adding some details from his perspective. The atmosphere around the table was relaxed and in between laughing, everyone praised Frieda’s excellent cooking.

After finishing their dinner, the two girls excused themselves and Gerda accompanied Liselotte. They went to fetch some of Liselotte’s favourite toys to while away the time until dessert would be served, therefore leaving the adults to their conversation.

Once Gellert had finished his dinner, he leaned back in his chair and draped an arm over the back of Newt’s chair. Gellert crossed his legs and sipped from his glass of wine as he listened to the story Frieda was currently telling. The blonde was glad to note that over the course of the evening, Newt had completely lost his shyness and nervousness and had instead started to feel quite comfortable in the Brandt’s home.

While laughing at something particularly funny in Frieda’s story, Newt leaned back in his chair, resting by his shoulder blades lightly against Gellert’s arm.

“Ah, I just remembered! I wanted to ask you something, Newt,” Hermann said after his wife had finished her story. “I wanted to enquire if you might like to help me in an exercise I have planned for the trainees. You remember the ones you’ve met that one time you’ve been playing with your nundu?”

“Yes, I remember them! What kind of exercise do you have in mind and what would I need to do?” Newt asked.

“You’d have to sneak into a house and steal something from under the trainee’s noses. The exercise for the trainees would be to guard the house and to prevent you from stealing said something,” Hermann explained. “It’s part of teaching them to work together as a team and to come up with a strategy on short notice. And don’t worry, they’ll of course only be allowed to use immobilising spells and spells that wouldn’t harm you.”

“Ok, sounds interesting,” Newt replied. “I think I can do it. I should have enough experience with breaking and entering to give them a challenge,” he added with a grin.

“That’s the spirit!” Hermann exclaimed. “Thanks!”

“When would you like to run this exercise?” Gellert interjected.

“At the end of next week. If that would suit you?” Hermann said, addressing Newt with his question. After Newt nodded in assent, Hermann added, “I was thinking that we’d best start after breakfast so we’ll be done in time for lunch.”

“Yeah, that’s fine by me,” Newt replied. “I’ll just have to remember to set an alarm the evening before, so I won’t sleep in,” he added jokingly.

A few minutes later, when everyone was done with dinner, they all helped with clearing the table so that dessert could be served. Newt was side-tracked from re-setting the table however, when Liselotte came over to him and started to show him her favourite toy animals. Gellert readily took over Newt’s job, leaving the magizoologist to converse with the new fan he seemed to have acquired.

While Gellert was occupied with setting the table, Newt quietly called Hermann over after Liselotte had gotten up to fetch some more of her toys.

“What is it?” Hermann asked.

“I have a small favour to ask of you,” Newt said, before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a heavy coin made of pure gold. “Gellert has told me that there is a betting pool going on about me and him…”

“Yeah, there is. It’s even one of the larger ones,” Hermann disclosed.

“Could you maybe bet this coin for me on the option of me and Gellert being in a relationship, please?” the magizoologist asked shyly. “You can say that ‘Artemis’ placed the bet.”

“Oh! I see!” Hermann replied. Smiling conspiratorially, he took Newt’s gold coin and put it into his trouser pocket. “What have you planned?” he asked, hoping Newt would confide in him.

“You’ll probably find out soon…” Newt answered, grinning slyly.

Hermann let out a bout of chuckles. “That I’d like to!” he said, giving Newt a friendly pat on the shoulder. “I’ll be looking forward to whatever you’ve planned then.” With that Hermann turned and continued helping with clearing and resetting the table.

When it became time to get seated for dessert, Liselotte begged Newt to sit beside her, so she could continue discussing her favourite animals with the magizoologist. Newt agreed without a fuss, much to the young girl’s delight. Everyone took a seat at the table after a new seating order had been worked out.

After the dessert had been opened, the two girls didn’t hesitate to purposefully reach for the chocolate pudding. After each of them had taken a few spoonfuls of it, they heaped copious amounts of whipped cream on top of their pudding. The girls tucked in, eating just as much as the adults, if not more.

“Newt?” Liselotte asked in between bites.

“Yes?” Newt replied while turning to the girl beside him.

“Can we maybe come by one day to visit Theo? And Pickett? And Helga?” the young girl asked shyly.

“If your parents are ok with it, then it’s fine by me!” Newt replied.

Liselotte whipped around to her mother. “Mama, can I? Please?” she begged.

“Of course you can, darling,” Frieda assented, making the exited girl nearly vibrate in her chair. “But you’ll have to promise to listen to what Newt says and to stay by his side and not run off, ok?”

“Yes, I promise! I’ll listen to everything he says!” Liselotte assured hastily, overjoyed that she’ll get to see Newt’s other creatures.

“Can I come, too?” Gerda asked, “I can look after Liselotte and make sure she’s careful. And I kinda want to see Helga again.”

“Yeah, of course you can come, too,” Newt replied. “I can give you two a tour through my case and introduce you to the inhabitants. About half the enclosures are currently empty though, because I’ve been able to rehabilitate and release a big number of my animals back into the wild. Those who are still there are mostly my long time guests. But the good thing is that they like getting visitors all the more.” Newt turned to Liselotte and added in a stage whisper, “Especially if they bring treats.”

“Uh!” the young girl exclaimed. “I’ll have to bring a bit of everything!” she promised herself, making the adults around the table laugh at her unusually serious attitude.

The conversation around the table continued happily, until everyone had finished their dessert. Liselotte had already yawned a few time over the past minutes, since it was way past her usual bedtime. Stuffed and tired, Newt and Gellert got up from the table to get started on saying goodbye to their hosts.

Frieda and Gerda thanked Newt once again for helping with the pixies and for inviting the girls to visit the creatures in his suitcase. After shaking Frieda’s and Gerda’s hands, Newt went to the youngest of the family to bid her farewell. Newt offered her his hand, but Liselotte shuffled over and hugged the redhead around the waist instead.

“Bye, Newt. You’re the best!” she mumbled tiredly, pressing her face into Newt’s vest.

Newt leaning down a bit and put an arm around the little girl’s shoulders. “Good night and sleep tight, little pixie,” he replied, before Liselotte let go of him again.

Hermann came over and picked up the tired girl to take her to bed. “Bye, Newt! I’ll probably see you tomorrow!” he said. As he carried his half asleep daughter toward her bedroom, Hermann added “Night, Gellert,” as he passed the dark lord.

“Newt,” Frieda smiled as she approached the magizoologist with open arms. “It was so nice to meet you,” she said as she gave the redhead a brief, yet warm hug.

Newt smiled and ducked his head shyly. “You, too. It’s been a lovely evening,” he replied.

Frieda took a step back again. “And thanks for convincing broody grumpy-pants to come along as well,” she added with a pointed glance Gellert’s way.

“Again, my most sincere apologies,” Gellert said as he came over to them after having said goodbye to Gerda. “Whatever can I do to make you forgive me?”

Frieda put a finger on her chin. “You know; Our wedding day is coming up Friday in 4 weeks and it’s going to be our 20th anniversary this year…”

“I’ll make sure you’ll have your husband all to yourself that day and the following weekend then,” Gellert assured before he gave Frieda as short goodbye hug.

“Yes, that’s better,” Frieda replied before she accompanied her guests into the hall, a pleased smile pulling up her lips.

Newt and Gellert put on their shoes and scarfs and after shrugging on his own coat, Gellert helped Newt into his.

“Good night,” Newt wished once again before he followed Gellert to the front door. As Newt came over, Gellert held the door open for him, letting the redhead step out first.

“Nighty night,” Gellert said. He gave Frieda a sloppy salute before he followed Newt outside.

Walking side by side, Newt and Gellert left the farmstead’s courtyard. Once they had reached the small country lane running before it, they turned around and gave the still watching Frieda a wave. Frieda waved back at the two men and continued watching them as they ambled away. She smiled at the way Gellert had gently put his arm around Newt after they had turned around.

She had to let out an, “Aww,” when Newt leaned closer a few seconds later and gave Gellert a kiss on the cheek.  

After having watched the two men over the evening, Frieda was now sure that those two did indeed fit together well. That Newt was good for the grumpy blonde had been out of question. But, now that she had been able to convince herself that her husband hadn’t exaggerated when he had told her about how Gellert had changed, she could say the same was true in that Gellert was good for Newt too.

When she had first come out to greet her guests this afternoon, it had been obvious to her how nervous the magizoologist had been. The extra effort she had put in making Newt fell welcome had paid off though, and she’d been able to get to know the redhead as a kind and very polite young man. She was glad that the introverted creature-expert had felt comfortable enough that he had gradually opened up to them over the course of the evening.

Of course the redhead wasn’t as extroverted and boisterous as her husband, but Newt had seemed to be at ease in the company of Frieda’s family, since he had freely voiced his opinion on various topics and didn’t have to fumble for the right words.

Seeing for herself how comfortable Newt had been with Gellert, had assured Frieda that the dark lord indeed seemed to be a good match for the redhead. Frieda had to admit, she had been surprised at first at how gently and respectfully Gellert treated the magizoologist.

Ever since she had known the blonde, he had never been the most emotionally expressive person. A bit unsurprisingly, Gellert had therefore always visited them alone in the past, never having anyone to bring along.

Frieda had learned about her husband’s best friend’s predilections pretty soon after she had started dating Hermann. Of course Frieda knew that the still prevalent stigma about people like Gellert didn’t make it any easier for him to ever find a partner. Over the years Frieda had known the other man, she had noticed that the blonde had slowly started to close himself off. Frieda had to admit that she had sometimes worried for the other since he had started to become more and more reclusive over time.

This went on so far that Gellert had barely even visited them anymore in the last 2 years. This trend seemed to have been stopped though, now that the redheaded Englishman had entered Gellert’s life. Her husband’s oldest friend had turned back into the more mischievous and less grumpy man Frieda had been introduced to when her relationship with Hermann had become serious all those years ago.

Frieda therefore honestly wished that the two men’s relationship would work out and that they’d find the happiness they deserved. With those thoughts in mind, Frieda finally closed the front door and went to see if her husband needed any help with putting Liselotte to bed.  

**~~~**

**1** \- Yes, yes, mom!

 **2** \- Bon appétit!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More mischief to follow next week! But unlike last time, Newt’s going to be the main perpetrator this time.  
> Also, for this chapter I recommend the following piece of music: Kids of 88 - Ribbons of light [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSoJ0GnyFOg)


	15. Truth is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this week's update and thanks so much for all the lovely kudos you've left me!

About a week and a half after the dinner at Brandt’s, Newt and Hermann were standing together in front of a group of trainees. For today Hermann had planned to run the training scenario for which he had requested Newt’s help.

The trainees had been divided into 4 groups of 5, needing to complete today’s exercise together as a team. The setting for this scenario would be a small weekend-get-away log house in a forest not far from Nurmengard castle.

“So, now that I’ve explained the exercise’s setting, I’d like to introduce you to the opponent you’ll have to face today,” Hermann said before he gestured at the magizoologist standing behind him. “Please welcome Newton Scamander!”

Newt took a few steps forward so he was standing beside Hermann.

“Hello,” Newt said as he gave the trainees a shy wave of his hand.

The trainees applauded politely. Of course they all remembered the man with the pet nundu who had nearly made them piss their pants a few weeks ago. Said redhead had been the topic of much speculation after he had arrived at Nurmengard. At first, people had speculated that Grindelwald had abducted the redhead since he seemed to be scared of people.

That theory was quickly discarded however, when the magizoologist was seen happily conversing with Grindelwald, the commander and some other people on a few occasions. It was assumed that the redhead’s timid and shy behaviour simply seemed to lay in his nature. After the man’s stint with the nundu, the most popular theory was that Grindelwald had recruited the magizoologist because of the menagerie of dangerous beasts he possessed.

When said dangerous animals weren’t used in any of Grindelwald’s plans though, the personnel began to wonder anew. Then the thing where the magizoologist had ridden a dragon had happened. That was when personnel came up with the theory that, going by their behaviour around each other, the redhead and Grindelwald must be good friends.

Ignoring the hushed whispers making the rounds between the trainees, Hermann continued with a grin on his lips, “Newton here is a magizoologist and one his favourite things to do is to rescue abused animals. You can imagine that entails a lot of sneaking around, which makes Newton your ideal opponent for our training exercise today.”

Hermann held up an old-fashioned, flowery teacup for everyone to see.

“Each team’s task is going to be to guard this teacup from getting stolen by Newt,” the commander elaborated the mission’s objective. “The timeframe for this exercise will be 45 minutes for each team. If the teacup is still there after that time’s up, you’ve successfully completed the exercise. I’ll be watching you closely from between the trees to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, so I can give you some tips for improvement afterwards.” Hermann set the flowery teacup down by his feet. “Everything clear so far?”

“Yes, sir!” the trainees answered.

“Alright! So, rules then,” Hermann said as he clasped his hands together. “You’ll be allowed to use every skill you can think of. The only limitation is that you don’t kill, wound, harm or otherwise damage our magizoologist here. Otherwise feel free to get as creative as you like!” Hermann turned to the redhead standing beside him. “Do you have everything you’ll need?”

“Um,” Newt hummed as he rummaged through his coat pockets. “Can I have a quick minute, please?” he asked with a sheepish smile.

“Go ahead,” Hermann replied, to which Newt dashed off into one of the sheds by the castle’s outer wall.

Hermann fixed the trainees before him with a serious look. “A word of caution,” he said, now that Newt was out of earshot. “If you get as much as a scratch on the redhead, I’ll make sure you’ll be in need of immediate medical attention before Newt can even say ‘ouch’.” Hermann clasped his hands behind his back. “Clear?” he demanded insistently.

The trainees gulped before they affirmed their understanding of the commander’s warning with a crisp, “Yes, sir! Clear, sir!”

Hermann nodded in satisfaction and not a minute later the magizoologist returned to the commander’s side.

“Sorry for the wait,” Newt apologized quietly, an embarrassed smile flitting over his lips.

“No problem,” Hermann assured. “Now, if we’re all set, let’s get started! Everyone follow me to the starting point!” Hermann called before he, Newt and the trainees apparated away.

The starting point was a small clearing in the forest, not far from the log house where the exercise would be run.

“Team 1, if you please,” Hermann said, gesturing for those team’s members to follow him. When they had reached the block house about 2 minutes later, Hermann unlocked and entered it. The interior was all one big room with most of the furniture pushed to the walls. Hermann went to the only table in the house and sat the flowery teacup down on it.

“The exercise will begin and end at my whistle signal,” Hermann said. He gave the trainees a friendly smile before he turned on his heel. “Good luck,” he added as he exited the house.

Not even a minute later, a shrill whistle could be heard, signalling that the exercise had begun. The trainees locked up the house and stepped outside. After they had applied a few warding spells to the door, they took up positions outside of the house. They had split themselves up around the outside of the house, so that they had its whole surroundings covered.

Faces set in determination, the members of team 1 waited and watched out for even the smallest hint that might give away their opponent. After 45 uneventful minutes another whistle sounded, signalling the end of their exercise.

Confident that they had passed, they followed their commander back into the house. Once inside though, their mouths dropped open when they saw that the teacup they had been tasked to guard was clearly missing.

“What!” one of the trainees exclaimed. “But we were watching the outside for the whole time! How is this possible?”

Hermann chuckled quietly, before he gestured for them to follow him back outside and over to where the commander had been observing them from. The redhead was standing there and held the stolen flowery teacup in his hand as the trainee team stopped before him.

“How did you do that?” the trainees asked, astonished that the redhead had gotten the drop on them so easily.

Newt shrugged and gave them a sheepish smile. “You warded the door and took up positions with your backs turned towards the house so you could watch its surroundings. I climbed a tree and simply floated myself down onto the roof. I got in and out through the sky window,” Newt explained.

“And there you have it,” Hermann said. “We’ll discuss how you can improve your performances later, ok? I’ll go and fetch the next team. You can return to the castle or you can stay and watch how your colleagues will fare.”

The trainees threw each other mischievous glances and quickly made up their minds.

“We’d like to stay, please. If it wouldn’t be a bother, sir,” one of them addressed the commander.

“It’s not. Find a spot and get comfortable,” Hermann replied before he apparated away to fetch the next team.

About ten minutes later, Hermann gave off the next shrill whistle and the second team tried their luck at guarding the teacup.

Three of those team’s members had taken up guarding positions outside the house, while one of them had climbed onto the roof. The last team member walked around to scout out the area. After their exercise was over 45 minutes later, the second team was just as surprised as the first one had been to find the teacup had been stolen.

They followed Hermann to his observation point, where Newt handed the flowery teacup back to the commander.

“How?” one man of the second team asked the redhead.

“Oh, that one was easy! You didn’t set up any anti-apparition wards,” Newt explained. The trainees face-palmed themselves at their own stupidity and how they could have overlooked such an obvious flaw in their strategy.

Another handful of minutes later, the third team started their exercise. They warded the door and put up an anti-apparition ward around the house. One of them took up position inside the house to keep an eye on the teacup at all times. Three of them stood outside, guarding the perimeter, while the last one kept a look out from the rooftop.

Much to the third team’s surprise, the teacup was stolen as well when their exercise had been finished. The trainee that had stayed inside the house complained about feeling a massive headache though as they went over the Hermann’s observation point.

“Sorry about that,” the magizoologist muttered as he went to the trainee with the headache. Newt pulled a small flask from his inside coat pocket and handed it to the trainee. “That should take care of the headache you must surely feel.”

“Oh, thanks, sir,” the trainee replied. He took the flask and studied it dubiously. “But how did you manage to get past us?”

“I sneaked over to a window and climbed inside. I froze you up with a spell before I took the teacup. I replaced it with a fake copy and climbed back out the window before I released you from the spell. You didn’t have any clue I’ve been there and you could still clearly see the teacup sitting right there in front of you.”

“Ok, that was clever,” the third team’s members admitted.

Newt peered at them with a shy smile, feeling embarrassed by their astonished looks.

“You can stay and watch the last team if you want to,” Newt offered, gesturing toward the other trainees, who had already finished their exercise as well.

The fourth and last team began their turn at preventing the teacup from getting stolen soon afterwards. This time, only two of them patrolled outside the house while the other three stayed inside it.

The already finished trainees snickered when the last team failed in the exercise just like they had. This time, Newt had caused a distraction in the nearby woods, making all trainees storm outside the house to engage the attacker. Newt however vanished before they could act and had an easy time to snatch the now unprotected teacup from the table. 

The trainees were a bit crushed by their failure, having been sure that they’d manage to protect the teacup. Hermann saw their disappointment in the way their shoulders had slumped and how they exchanged awed whispers about Newt’s skills between themselves. 

“Ok, this it then for today,” Hermann spoke up. “Don’t be too disappointed!” he tried to console the crushed trainees.  “To be honest, I didn’t expect you to succeed in this exercise. Not with Newt as your opponent, at least. This gives me an idea though,” Hermann said before he turned toward Newt. “I’d like to demonstrate to them how a team consisting of more experienced men would fare in this exercise. So, would you mind having another go at it?”

“No, I don’t mind,” Newt agreed readily.

“Thanks, Newt!” Hermann said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes!” he announced before he apparated back to Nurmengard to fetch some of his men.

That team, consisting of clearly experienced men, gave Newt some more trouble than the trainees did. After assessing their defences, Newt managed to sneak past the three guards outside. He had made it into the house some 30 minutes into the exercise. Once there, he had to concentrate hard to stay undetected by the two persons standing guard inside the house. Using every trick and ruse he knew, the magizoologist managed to get a hold of the teacup.

As Newt tried to make his escape however, he was detected by the two guards in the house. Throwing subtlety to the wind, the magizoologist jumped out the opened window through which he had climbed into the house. Newt landed on his feet and didn’t hesitate to run away in a zig-zag course. He was desperate to reach the border of the anti-apparition spell that had been erected around the house and its perimeter. Newt knew that after passing the ward, he could make his escape by simply apparating away.

When the redhead was only two steps away from the ward’s border, a spell hit him squarely into the back though. The spell pushed Newt forward, making him trip over his feet. Cradling the teacup, the redhead braced himself to land on his shoulder, which would allow him to convert most of his momentum into a forward roll. Just when he was about to impact the hard ground, his fall was interrupted by a cushioning spell someone must have cast under him at the last second. After performing something closer to a tumble than a proper roll, Newt sat up on the invisible cushion that had broken his fall and looked around, searching for whom had intervened.

“What is going on here?” Grindelwald demanded to know as stepped out from between the surrounding trees. He had his wand in hand as he fixed the last team’s soldiers with a stern look.

“Sir!” the startled soldiers greeted their boss. “We are partaking in an exercise, sir!”

“You are certainly not the trainees this exercise was intended for,” Gellert commented. He kept the 5 soldiers in his field of vision as he went over to Newt. “You alright?” Gellert asked more quietly, once he had reached the magizoologist. He held out his hand to Newt and pulled the other to his feet. Gellert quickly mustered Newt but didn’t find any signs of injury.

“Yes, I’m fine. Don’t worry,” Newt replied, giving the clearly concerned man beside him a warm smile. “I’ve volunteered for this, remember?”

“Yes, but there wasn’t any mention that you’d go up against a team of veterans,” Gellert countered.

“True. That was more of a spontaneous idea,” Newt admitted. “You see, after the trainee teams had all failed, we thought it’d be nice to demonstrate how a more practised team would hold up against me.”

In the meantime, Hermann had arrived at the blockhouse with the trainees trailing behind him uncertainly.

“Sir-,” Hermann spoke up. He didn’t get to explain himself though, since Gellert abruptly turned to him.

“I’m not amused,” the dark lord mentioned as he briefly pointed at Hermann in accusation.

“Apologies, sir,” Hermann replied, giving the other an inclination of his head.

The commander knew his friend well enough though, to know that Gellert wasn’t rally as angry as he seemed. His boss was probably merely disgruntled that he had to worry about his boyfriend’s safety for a minute there, when that spell had hit Newt. Hermann knew that the only retribution for his actions would be having to listen the Gellert’s scolding rant that was sure to follow some evening this week. 

The trainees and veterans clearly didn’t know the dark lord that well though, going by their nervous fidgeting and the more or less well hidden anxiety they displayed. The tense moment was broken when a series of pops from someone apparating could be heard coming closer. While everyone turned to look at what was making that noise, Gellert groaned in exasperation.

A few seconds later a colourful ball of feathers could be seen, determinately making its way over to where Newt and Gellert stood. It apparated rapidly and let out a happy quack once it had come to a stop before the magizoologist.

“Oh! Hello, Theo,” the surprised magizoologist said as he crouched down to her height. “What are you doing here?”

Theo let out a series of chirps and trills before she turned toward Gellert. She looked up at the dark lord and started clucking at him insistently.

“No,” Gellert replied to her noisemaking, his expression nonplussed.

Theo’s clucking turned needier and sulkier as she paced before Gellert’s feet. A flap of her wings was the only warning the dark lord got, before Theo flew straight at his chest. Without a change in his expression, Gellert caught her in his arms.

“You are getting too heavy to be picked up, _junges Fräulein_ **1** ,” Gellert commented, as he glanced down at the bird in his arms. Toward Newt he added, “She makes for a surprisingly good conversation partner from time to time. However, for the last 30 minutes she’s been begging me to pick her up.”

“She has probably just gotten bored,” Newt mused. He looked at Gellert with a frown on his face. “You could have put her back into my case where she could have played with her peers. I’ve even left the case back in my room,” Newt explained.

“Oh… I didn’t know that. I’ve let her out into the courtyard instead,” Gellert replied. “Didn’t think she’d follow me, though,” he added while he proceeded to calmly pet the diricawl, unfazed by the staring people around him.

“She’s been getting better at apparating as her magical core fills up again,” the magizoologist explained. “Still, she might have managed to apparate here, but I’m not sure if she’ll make it all the way back home as well.”

“I’ll take her then,” Gellert replied. “And I’ll put her into your case, like you’ve said,” he added before he turned to go.

“Gellert?” Newt called after the dark lord quietly.

Gellert stopped and turned back around to Newt, one eyebrow slightly raised. “Hm?” he hummed in question, baffled by the slight redness that had suddenly creeped up on Newt’s cheeks.

The magizoologist took two steps forward and closed the distance between them. Barely hesitating, Newt leaned forward and gave Gellert a light peck on the lips.

“I’ll see you at dinner?” Newt asked when he had leaned back.

“Of course,” Gellert assured, smiling warmly. After fondly regarding the magizoologist for another few seconds, Gellert turned to leave and apparated away on his next step.

Many of the curious spectators, who had watched the interaction between the redhead and their boss, groaned in frustration. After all, they had just lost all the money they had invested in the bet on what kind of relation Newt and the dark lord seemed to have. They should have known something was going on when a few days ago someone called Artemis had bet a gold coin on the two men being boyfriends.

“Newt, you sly dog,” Hermann said quietly as he approached the still slightly flushed magizoologist. “Exploiting the system like a true criminal, I see!” he added jovially when he had reached the redhead’s side.

Newt shrugged. “Have to make do somehow,” he quipped back, which made the commander clap him on the back.

“Enjoy your winnings then, _Artemis_ ,” Hermann added with a wink, making the watchers groan once more at their own stupidity.

Grinning, Hermann turned back to address his trainees. He ordered them to follow him back to Nurmengard, where they’d be having their lunch before he’d explain to them what they had all done wrong and how they’d fare better next time.

 

**_~ Meanwhile in Trapani, Sicily ~_ **

****

Just this morning Theseus and two of his aurors had arrived on the island Grindelwald had last been seen on. The island’s branch office of aurors had been in an uproar and the situation had been rather chaotic. The corruption the dark lord had apparently revealed inside the ranks of Sicily’s magical law enforcement seemed to run deeper than most had thought. Italian aurors from the mainland had been called in to investigate their Sicilian peers and to find out who was guilty and who had known about what.

Therefore, the delegation of British aurors had to make their case heard to even be acknowledged by the local aurors. A former team leader, who had been hastily promoted to the head of the department for crimes committed by foreigners, had invited Theseus and his two colleagues into his new office about an hour after they had arrived.  Once everyone was seated, the newly promoted department head explained everything that had happened since Grindelwald had decided to make an appearance by the piers two days ago now. The man also elaborated on the scandal that had followed the unpleasant things the dark lord had revealed to the public.

Public opinion of the Italian law enforcement had predictably been dealt a rather big blow by Grindelwald’s actions. Many protests that demanded a stricter course of action against corruption in the public services had formed nationwide. The Italian president even had to call for a quick address on the state of the nation, where he had tried to pacify the angry protesters.

Theseus, who had remained rather quiet while the department head explained the current situation, leaned back in his chair. The British auror couldn’t help but wonder what Grindelwald had been doing in Sicily and what his intentions had been with the stunt he had pulled. What worried Theseus most though, was that it looked like Grindelwald had managed to throw a whole nation into upheaval and all it had taken him where those few minutes he had stepped out of the shadows.

The scary thing was also how well Grindelwald’s plan had played out. Seemingly overnight the dark lord had won many new supporters or at least caused a lot of people to become vastly more sympathetic of his cause. At the same time, he had managed to significantly weaken the forces working against him and his fanatics.

Even though Theseus felt nothing but hatred and animosity towards the dark lord, even he had to admire the talent the German had in swaying the masses to his cause, while somehow always staying at least one step ahead of his opponents. From a tactical point of view, Grindelwald’s latest move had been an act of pure genius. Something that the aurors could certainly learn from.

Grindelwald’s recent turn to a more moderate course had also earned him more approval in the general public than ever before. Theseus ruffled his hair in frustration. How could people so easily forget the acts of terrorism Grindelwald had committed? Or the many aurors that had been killed in an attempt to put an end to the dark lord’s machinations? The reason remained just as unfathomable to Theseus as the reason why his younger brother apparently didn’t seem to be too disinclined to go along with Grindelwald’s plans.

About 2 hours later, the British head auror sat in a small office set aside for him and his team. The British aurors planned on questioning as many witnesses of the incident on the yacht as possible, hoping to suss out even the smallest details that might shine a bit more light into Grindelwald’s schemes.

“Please, bring in the next witness,” Theseus told his colleague.

A minute later a fashionable young lady, dressed in what appeared to be designer clothes, took a seat before Theseus’ borrowed desk.

“Hello, Miss Sciriara. Thank you for coming,” Theseus greeted, before diving in on the questing.

The woman recounted the events from 2 days ago, just as all the others before her did, not giving Theseus any new leads.

“…and then, when Grindelwald stood there on the boat, choking the trafficker,” Miss Sciriara continued, “I suddenly felt a tugging on my handbag. I turned around and there was a man standing behind me that clearly wanted to rob me!” Miss Sciriara held up a hand, “But not with me, I thought! So, I started screaming and hitting the thief over the head with my bag. That’s when Grindelwald suddenly turned his attention to me and my two friends.”

Theseus looked up from where he had been lazily taking notes, intrigued by this deviation from all the witness accounts he had heard so far. “And what did Grindelwald do then?” the British auror asked, giving the woman his full attention now.

“He told us that we should let his partner through and that the man wasn’t a thief,” Ms. Sciriara replied.

“Where those his exact words?” Theseus asked after having written down what she had said. So far none of the other witnesses had been able to recount this bit of conversation that had happened before Grindelwald’s accomplice had stepped onto the yacht.

“No, no… Grindelwald also insulted me,” Ms. Sciriara added, crossing her arms.

Theseus raised an eyebrow, “How so?”

“He said that my Prada bag was a fake!” Ms. Sciriara divulged while letting out an enraged huff.

Having to supress an eye roll at the woman’s theatrics, Theseus leaned back in his chair. After mulling over some things, the auror spoke up again, “You have been in closer proximity to the boat than most, am I right?”

After getting a nod in response, the British auror continued, “Therefore you have likely seen Grindelwald’s accomplice from closer than any others. I’d like you to tell me anything you remember about that man. What he looked like, how he spoke or anything in particular the made him stand out.”

“Oh, well… He was tall. At least 5’ 11”, I’d say. He had copper coloured hair and he was dressed in dark trousers, a white shirt and a dark jacket,” Miss Sciriara replied. “When I hit him with my bag, he said something in English,” she shook her head, “I don’t remember what he had said, but I think he spoke in an accent not unlike yours.”

Gnashing his teeth, Theseus sat down his pen and the clipboard holding his notes. He reached into one of the files laying on his desk and pulled out a photograph. “Could this be the man you’ve seen that day?” Theseus asked as he handed her a picture of Newt. Theseus picked up his mug of cold coffee, expecting to woman to need a bit of time to study the photo.

“Yes, that’s him!” Ms. Sciriara exclaimed immediately, though. “That’s him exactly,” she added while pointing at Newt’s face in the photograph.

Theseus, who had only taken one sip of his disgusting brew, had to grip the mug’s handle tightly at Ms. Sciriara’s confirmation of his suspicions. Feeling his anger threatening to overcome him, Theseus sprang up from his chair.

“Fuck!” the British auror bellowed as he threw the mug of coffee across the room. The sound of it shattering on the nearby wall made the woman sitting across from Theseus flinch.

“Signore!” Ms. Sciriara exclaimed, shocked by the auror’s unexpected violence.

Theseus rounded the desk and plucked the photograph of Newt out of the woman’s hand.

“Hey, you can’t just…” Ms. Sciriara began, rising from her chair as well.

“I don’t care!” Theseus snapped back, before heading towards the door.

“That is incredibly rude behaviour! I demand you apologize to me right now, or this will have consequences!” Ms. Sciriara called after the auror’s back.

Theseus ignored her and stormed off. He had to get out of the building and blow off steam elsewhere.

“Hey!” Ms. Sciriara, who had followed Theseus out into the hallway, called once again. “I won’t let myself be treated like that! Auror or not!” she added, causing quite the scene with her shouting.

A local auror approached her. “Signora, what seems to be the problem?” he asked, frowning in concern.

“I’ll tell you what the problem is!” Ms. Sciriara replied, all too ready to complain about the rudeness she had just experienced. She followed the man to a desk where she retold what had happened in the foreign auror’s office. The local officer was nodding along to her recounts and frowned on sympathy while dutifully noting down every complaint Ms. Sciriara brought forth.

**~~~**

**1** \- young lady

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After Newt’s kiss in front of all those people, Gellert probably grinned like the cat that got the cream for the rest of the day. 
> 
> Meanwhile Theseus is losing his cool… His behaviour toward fake-Prada-bag-lady might just come back to bite his arse, though.
> 
> FYI before I gave this chapter its final title, it was simply called ‘trainee training’.
> 
> And lastly, I’d like to turn your attention towards the song: Truth is by Stealth [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPB-Sgkc6CA)


	16. I can't carry the Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s gonna get a bit angsty there for a moment ;)

It was a lazy Sunday morning a few weeks after their visit to Italy. Newt and Gellert had taken their lunch together in Gellert’s office and were currently both studying today’s newspaper. The younger man was laying on the couch, while the dark lord sat in his desk chair. Their comfortable silence was broken when the magizoologist let out a snort.

Gellert looked up from the article he was reading. “Hmm?” he hummed, fixing Newt with a questioning expression.

“That article on page five,” Newt commented. “It says that Italy’s director of magical law enforcement has thrown in the towel.”

“Oh! Guess the pressure had finally gotten too much for him then,” Gellert replied, a lopsided smirk pulling up one corner of his mouth. “That much rampant corruption in one’s ranks can drive any man into despair.”

“Yeah, probably,” Newt assented. After another minute, Newt spoke up again. “Did you see the article on page 13? The one about Antwerp?”

“No, I haven’t gotten that far yet. Why?” Gellert put his elbows on his desktop and propped his chin up with one of his hands, giving the magizoologist his full attention.

“You remember when I came here all those months ago?” Newt asked, to which Gellert gave a nod. “I had been on the run from a smuggling ring operating out of a warehouse in Antwerp’s harbour district. Back then I have managed to free all the trafficked animals they had, but now I worry that they’ve rebuilt and are going to reopen their business,” Newt elaborated.

“Yes, that wouldn’t be too unlikely, indeed,” Gellert agreed. “You want us to go and do something about it?”

“Yes, I do,” Newt replied. “I’d prefer it if no more animals would fall victim to those revolting people.”

“I’ll task someone with getting us some basic intel on the situation in Antwerp’s underground, then,” Gellert promised. “We could go there and bust their operation in the next few days. That ok for you?”

“More than ok,” Newt answered, a wide smile lighting up his face.

**~~~**

Three days after their conversation, Newt and Gellert found themselves in Antwerp, standing on the rooftop of a building across from the warehouse the traffickers operated out of. Knowing that most of the trafficker’s business would be taking place at night, the two of them had arrived late in the afternoon. They had agreed beforehand that they’d observe the warehouse for at least one night before they’d go in.

“We better get comfortable,” Gellert said as he erected a powerful shield that encased the two of them in a see-through dome that would prevent anyone from noticing their presence. “We have a long night ahead for us after all,” Gellert added as he diligently layered some protection and alarm spells over his barrier bubble. When everything was to the dark lord’s satisfaction, he put away his wand and sat down the satchel he had brought.

Out of it he pulled a folded up field bed, a stool and some provisions. With a slight wave of his hand, Gellert unfolded the field bed and sat it down across from the edge of the flat rooftop they were staying on.

After mustering the magizoologist, Gellert commented, “You look a bit tired.”

“Yeah, I feel tired, too,” Newt replied, rubbing his neck.

“I’ll take first shift then while you catch up on some sleep,” Gellert said with a smile. The dark lord picked up the stool he had brought and placed it by the edge of the rooftop from where he’d have the best view on the trafficker’s warehouse.

“Thanks,” Newt replied as he sat down on the field bed. “I hope I can get a few hours of sleep in. Just wake me when it’s my turn to take over, ok?”

“Will do. Sleep tight!”

Newt smiled back gently. “I’ll try,” he replied before he lay down on his side, his back facing towards Gellert.

The dark lord got comfortable as well and settled in for the next few boring hours of watching the comings and goings around the trafficker’s warehouse. Gellert closed his coat and cast another spell that would keep out the cold wind that had started to blow in from the sea.

A few hours later, sometime after midnight, Gellert knew all there was to know about the infrastructure and security measures of the warehouse across from where he sat. Seriously bored, the dark lord was delighted when he noticed that Newt was starting to stir. The redhead yawned behind his hand before he sat up in bed.

“How late is it?” Newt mumbled as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Bleary eyed, he got up from the field bed and put his arms up over his head, stretching to get rid of the sleep still lingering in his muscles.

“About half past midnight,” Gellert replied. He stood up as well and went over to Newt. When he had closed the distance between them, Gellert tucked the magizoologist’s vest down since it had slightly ridden up while the other had been sleeping. Next, the dark lord tucked Newt’s shirt tails neatly back into his trousers, starting at the front and letting his hands wander to Newt’s back.

When Gellert was done, he left his arms where they rested around the magizoologist’s waist and leaned forward to give him a kiss. “Slept well?” he asked before he dove in for a second kiss.

“Uh-huh. The bed is more comfortable than it looks,” Newt replied as he put a hand on Gellert’s chest. “It’s your turn now to get some shut-eye, though.”

“I’m not sure I’ll even manage to fall asleep,” Gellert argued as Newt turned them around, so that the dark lord was now standing closer to the bed.

“Yes, you’ve said so before. But I think you should at least try. Please?” Newt said, trying to convince the reluctant man.

“I could stay up with you and we could have a midnight snack instead,” Gellert countered. “I’m not feeling tired anyway.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you won’t feel tired a few hours from now. We need to be alert if we want to take on those traffickers,” Newt reminded the man that was still hanging on to him closely.

“Alright,” Gellert conceded, “Maybe I’ll manage to doze for a bit.”

When the dark lord didn’t let go of him even after Newt had given him a minute, the redhead remarked, “You’re clingier than Pickett.”

“Is that a good or a bad thing?” Gellert asked as he slightly pulled his head back to study Newt’s face.

Newt shrugged. “Depends on your perspective, I guess.”

A frown appeared on Gellert’s forehead. “Is this bothering you?” he asked, referring to their close physical contact.

“No! No, this is fine!” Newt reassured hastily, putting a placating hand on Gellert’s shoulder. “I just think that you should at least try to rest for a bit,” the redhead explained.

“Alright, I’m going,” Gellert replied. Contrary to his words, he leaned in for another kiss though. “I’m going,” Gellert repeated at Newt’s raised eyebrow. He finally let go of the magizoologist and went over to the bed. After laying down on his back, he folded his hands over his stomach, but slightly turned his head to watch as Newt sat down on the stool he had vacated.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep a look out and I’ll wake you if there’s anything interesting,” Newt said when he noticed the other watching him.

Gellert gave a small smile before he turned his head back to face the starry night sky above him. He closed his eyes and tried to relax even though he was constantly aware of the fact that he was currently in unfamiliar territory with the threat of a bunch of traffickers just around the next corner.

Newt settled in on his look-out post and listened to the other man’s quiet breathing while he watched the warehouse across the street. After about an hour, Newt was happy to note that he could finally make out a change in Gellert’s breathing pattern that indicated that the other had actually fallen asleep. Smiling gently to himself, Newt was glad that Gellert had felt comfortable enough to have managed to get some rest after all.

Still, while observing the trafficker’s warehouse, Newt had to sometimes turn around to check on the dark lord. Every time Newt did, the other was sleeping peacefully. This changed only three-fourths of an hour later though. When the redhead looked over this time, he noticed how Gellert had become tense, even though he still seemed to be asleep. When the blonde’s face screwed up in pain, Newt rose from his seat and went over to him.

“Gellert?” Newt asked quietly, his concern for the other written all over his face. When the other didn’t react, the redhead repeated the dark lord’s name, this time speaking a bit louder. Still not getting a reaction, Newt placed a hand on Gellert’s shoulder and shook him lightly.

After a few seconds of showing no reaction that caused Newt to become dreadfully worried, Gellert finally woke up. The blonde shot up from where he had been lying before he pulled his legs to himself and curled his arms around them, panting heavily all the while.

Newt carefully sat down on the bed beside the blonde and tentatively reached out to place his dislodged hand back on the other’s shoulder, intending to comfort the obviously distressed man. However, Gellert flinched away before Newt’s hand could even come close to making contact with his shoulder. Gellert whirled around to the magizoologist sitting beside him, a distant and slightly absent look in his glassy eyes.

A second later though, when it looked like Gellert had finally managed to shake off the remnants of whatever had bothered him in his sleep, he whispered, “Newt?” Seeming to only now register the presence of the man beside him, the blonde reached out for the magizoologist with both his hands and pulled the other man to himself before burying his face in the crook of the magizoologist’s neck.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” Newt whispered as he put his arms around the blonde and started gently stroking one of his hands up and down Gellert’s back in an attempt to sooth him. “Everything’s alright. There’s no one here but us. The wards you’ve put up are still working flawlessly,” Newt mumbled, hoping that his words would be reassuring for Gellert.

Even though the German’s breathing turned back to normal about a minute later, Newt didn’t let go of him or stop his trailing hand. Soothingly carding his other hand through Gellert’s soft, blonde stands, Newt asked in a whisper “Did you have a nightmare?”

“Something like that…” Gellert replied, his voice sounding a little bit strained.

“A vision?” Newt guessed next. Gellert nodded his head, his face still buried in the crook where Newt’s neck met his shoulder.

“Was it bad, your vision?” Newt added cautiously. “And is there anything I can do to help?”

Newt had to admit that he was a bit unsure of how to act in a situation like this. He had known of Gellert being a seer of course, but they had never really spoken about it at length. In the brief silence that followed Newt’s questions, the redhead felt how Gellert took in a breath which he then blew out slowly.

“It wasn’t good,” Gellert admitted a beat later. “I’m used to the visions though. You don’t have to worry, I’m fine now. Their after-effects usually pass after a few minutes,” he added with a shrug before he loosened his hold on the magizoologist and pulled back a smidge to get a glance at Newt’s face.

“Are your visions always that…um…,” Newt started, but broke off.

“That what?”

“Um…you looked like you were in pain,” Newt mumbled while regarding the blonde with a sympathetic look.

Gellert lowered his gaze and studied his knees. “They are not always this unpleasant,” he answered after a few seconds. “That’s rather something that has occurred in the more recent years.”

“I’m listening if you want to talk about it,” Newt offered.

“Thank you,” the German said, a grateful smile playing around his lips as he turned back to Newt, “but please, I don’t want my pesky visions to cause you so much trouble. You have to keep in mind that they are not infallible and don’t show the one and only inevitable future,” Gellert explained. “It’s more like that they give me a glimpse of a possible future which might come to pass or not. Also, my visions don’t really follow any logic and their narrative is not linear like the storyline of a theatre piece or one of those muggle movies. Sometimes I only hear sound with the occasional visual snippet or impression hushing by, sometimes things contradict themselves and often times things appear disjoined or out of context.”

“That doesn’t sound so nice,” Newt commented, his eyebrows drawing down.

“Oh, don’t worry! It’s not that bad,” Gellert reassured, smiling at Newt gently. “I’ve had those visions for nearly all my life and I know how to deal with them. They have become as normal to me as dreams are normal for most people. Mostly my visions are their usual confused mess, but like with everything, there are occasionally some better and some worse episodes mixed in.”

“Had the one from today been a bad one?” Newt asked carefully.

“Yeah,” Gellert admitted. “It’s a repeat of this theme that has popped up more and more often in the past few years.” After lightly shaking his head, the dark lord elaborated, “This particular vision always shows some kind of war that’s likely going to take place in the not too distant future. Millions of people are likely going to die in it. It’s unlike anything the world has ever seen…”

At Newt’s concerned expression, the dark lord broke off his elaborations. “Hey, don’t give those visions too much credit,” Gellert said as he stroked a few locks out of Newt’s face. “Everything can still be changed after all! You know, as a teenager I once had these insistent visions where Albus Dumbledore went around scaring kids while dressed in an old clown costume,” Gellert disclosed, which made Newt grin at the sheer absurdity of imagining his old professor doing something like that.

Glad that he had managed to somewhat lift the mood, Gellert smiled along with Newt and added, “I think we both know that these events clearly didn’t come to pass, though. To this day, I still have no idea what those clown visions could have possibly meant. One day they had simply stopped and I didn’t dwell on them any further. However, they still make for a good example to give others an idea of the pure nonsense my visions sometimes show me,” Gellert concluded with a grin.

The dark lord put his feet onto the ground and rose from the bed. “Come on, let’s eat something,” he said as he went over to where their provisions were stashed. “We still have a few hours to while away until sunrise,” Gellert continued, smiling gently and acting like his typical self once more. “Nocturnal traffickers are going to be most tired after having worked through a whole night, after all!” The blonde winked as he handed Newt a sandwich.

“True!” Newt agreed, relieved that his partner was already so much better now after the bad vision he had had.

The magizoologist had to admit that the other had given him quite the scare back when he didn’t wake up even when Newt had lightly shaken him. Despite what Gellert had said back then, Newt was sure though that his presence had helped tremendously to calm the blonde down. Newt had to wonder though what kind of horrible future was waiting for them that a glimpse of it had left even the usually unflappable dark lord this shaken.

Getting pulled out of his thoughts when Gellert joined him on the field bed, Newt readily let himself be distracted from his gloomy thoughts. The slightly chilly night air caused Newt to scoot closer to the other, sitting so close that their shoulders were brushing in an effort to conserve some of their body heat.

Noticing that the redhead was slightly shivering, Gellert wordlessly cast an additional heating spell around them. The magizoologist thanked him with a serene smile before both men finally tucked into their midnight snack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time they are going to put their plan to bust the traffickers' den into action and I have a slightly BAMF!Newt in store for you. 
> 
> Also, I’m sad to note that this is already the third to last chapter of this fic. Time passes so fast… but still, I would love to hear what you think about this chapter! Did you like that for once Newt hasn't been the source of angst in this fic? 
> 
> And last things last, for this fine occasion I’d like to recommend a song from my second favourite band: Hurts - Weight of the world [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOegVDm_Z2s)


	17. The way some science fiction does

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more shenanigans ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

**_~ A few hours later, at sunrise in Antwerp’s harbour district ~_ **

The sun had just risen, when a dark haired man entered the lounge/communal dining room the traffickers had installed inside their warehouse.

“Hey, Yorick! The last runner has just left and all’s locked up again,” the man reported to his boss before he picked up a beer can and went searching for a free seat.

“Alright, then,” the man called Yorick replied as he rose from his armchair. “The night has been very productive, I’m proud of you,” he addressed his henchmen. “If we continue like this, we’ll have everything set up and running by the end of the week.” The henchmen cheered for a bit, before Yorick continued, “I’m also happy to announce that our upgraded security system has successfully passed every test and is now running at 100%.”

The henchmen raised their after-work pints to that. Yorick grinned, pleased with the progress they had made. “It’s taken us a while to recover, but we’ll finally be back in the game!” Yorick added before he took a swig of his beer.

Just in that second, their new security system raised the intruder alert though, harshly interrupting their happy drinking.

“Seriously? Now?” Yorick exclaimed as he went over to the charmed map hanging on the lounge’s wall. Yorick turned off the siren before he checked out which detector had been triggered. He looked over the magical map depicting the inside of their warehouse and frowned in puzzlement.

“The front door?” Yorick asked aloud while turning back to his henchmen. “Everyone with me,” he ordered before he strode out of the lounge. The henchmen hurriedly set their beers down and followed after their boss, wands in hand.

Yorick entered the large storage hall at the other end of which the double doors making up the main entrance lay. The grand hall was lit up brightly by magical lights, shipping crates neatly stacked to the main corridor’s left and right. So far everything looked to be in order then. A few seconds later, a faint tapping noise that sounded like a person walking closer could be made out though.

Yorick’s tensed expression turned into one of hatred, when a familiar looking redhead rounded the corner ahead of them.

“You!” the head of the traffickers spat, voice full of disgust.

Once the redhead had fully rounded the corner, he stopped in the middle of the corridor. He said nothing and simply stood before the traffickers, regarding them with a calm and collected expression.

“The nerve, boy!” Yorick added as he took a threatening step closer to the familiar intruder, who didn’t even have his wand out. “After what you’ve done all those months ago, you dare showing yourself here?!”

The simple tilting of the magizoologist’s head Yorick got in reply to his question only spurned the trafficker’s boss on further. A leering grin creeped up on Yorick’s face and with a taunting lilt to his voice he asked, “Did you come back here so that we can finish what we started back all those weeks ago?”

“Yes,” the redhead confirmed simply. His voice was steady and he looked like he was wholly unconcerned by the more than fifteen armed men he was facing all on his own. Unbothered by other man’s taunting, Newt fixed Yorick with piercingly green eyes before speaking up once more.

“I want you to release the animals you have in your care and to shut down your business. For good this time,” the magizoologist demanded, which only earned himself a laugh from the trafficker’s boss, though.

“You an aspiring comedian as well as a thief now?” Yorick shot back, his henchmen snickering at their boss’ joke.

“No. I’m afraid I’m quite serious,” the redhead replied, his tone remaining polite and just as polished as his accent. The Brit put his hands in his trouser pockets, unconcerned that this left him even more vulnerable to any attacks the traffickers might throw at him. “I’d also advise you to go along with my demands,” Newt added, smiling mildly. “It would certainly spare you a trip to the hospital.”

“Oh, will it now?” Yorick spat, lips pulled up in a snarl. “What you gonna do if we decline?”

Newt shrugged. “Me?” he asked, pointing a finger at his chest. “Nothing.”

Grinning at Yorick’s dumbfounded expression, Newt put his hand back into his trouser pocket and indicated something behind the traffickers with a slight nod of his head. “It’s him you’ll have to worry about.”

At the sound of something rustling behind them, Yorick and his henchmen whirled around. They gasped and flinched back, their hearts sinking into their boots at the sight of the man that had somehow managed to sneak up on them.

His wand in his right hand, Grindelwald stepped out of the shadows he must have been hiding in, smirking at the traffickers all the while. The dark lord lifted his left hand and wriggled his fingers in greeting before he cast a spell that abruptly threw the inside of warehouse into darkness, its shutters closing and every source of light extinguishing.

The traffickers’ resulting panicked shouts were quickly followed by yells of pain as the dark lord advanced on the disorientated henchmen, unerringly finding his targets even in the inky blackness. Occasionally some clattering noises could be made out when some of the shipping crates where pushed against each other by a panicking trafficker’s desperate escape attempt. The clattering was always closely followed by the dull sound of a body limply falling to ground though.

Going by the occasional chuckle that echoed through the warehouse, Grindelwald definitely seemed to have a lot of fun picking off the disorientated henchmen that behaved more like a flock of scared chickens than like the experienced criminals they were.

Some minutes later though, the warehouse fell quiet once more and its lights turned back on. Motes of dust floated in the air and started to slowly settle back down.

His expression neutral, the dark lord stepped over the bodies of the unconscious men strewn around the floor. He had made sure not to deal out any life threatening injuries, but if there was the occasional broken limp or nasty cut thrown into the mix, then he didn’t feel any remorse for his actions. Not after what these traffickers had done and would have done to Newt if he hadn’t managed to escape them the first time he had confronted them.

After a glance at the shipping crates stacked all around him, an idea suddenly popped into Gellert’s mind. Deciding to digress from his original plan, he summoned one of the largest crates to himself. After he had dumped its contents in a corner, he floated the traffickers’ unconscious bodies into the box, one after another. Once they were all neatly stacked inside, Gellert put the box’s lid back on and sealed it shut. Another swish of his wand had a red ribbon wrap itself around the crate, forming a large bow on top of it.  Grinning at his handiwork, Gellert left the giant present behind as he turned and made his way to where he knew Newt had run off to.

The dark lord found the magizoologist in the warehouse’s basement just as the magizoologist was coaxing a malnourished unicorn into his case. Gellert came to a stop under the door jamb and leaned against it, watching the crouching man thoughtfully. Though the magizoologist must have sensed his presence, he didn’t let that distract him from helping the unicorn that was weakly stumbling towards his case.

“Everything went alright I take it?” Newt asked once the unicorn had safely made it inside. He peered up at Gellert from where he was still crouching on the ground, closing his suitcase and clicking its clasps shut. 

“’Course it did,” Gellert replied with a grin. “You fine, too? And how are they?” he asked with a glance at Newt’s case.

“I’m good and I think our plan worked perfectly,” Newt replied as he got up from the ground. He glanced at his surroundings. “Considering these accommodations,” he continued as he gestured at the small and dirty cells the animals had been kept in, “they are relatively fine. All of them show clear signs of neglect and malnourishment, but I’m relieved it’s nothing worse than that.”

“So, they’ll make a full recovery then?” Gellert asked. He closed the distance between them and gently wiped a spec of dirt from Newt’s cheek.

“Yes, I’m sure of it!” Newt replied, the gentle smile on his lips conveying his relief that none of the trafficked animals were harmed too badly.

“Great!” Gellert said, genuinely happy for Newt and his rescues. “That leaves us with just the task of dropping off our present and then we’ll be done here,” Gellert added with a wide smile.

Frowning in confusion, the magizoologist asked, “What present do you mean?”

“Oh, I know our plan was to leave the traffickers incapacitated and call the aurors here,” Gellert started to explain. “But once I had them all stunned I had this flash of inspiration. You see, I don’t want to give the aurors the opportunity to keep any of this under wraps,” he said as he gestured at the warehouse around them. “So I had this idea that will surely garner a bit more attention from the public and with the newspaper companies.” Putting an arm around the other’s waist, Gellert started to gently steer Newt out of the damp basement. “Come on, I’ll show you what I mean.”

Readily following his partner’s lead, Newt commented, “Alright, I’m curious.”

**~ Meanwhile at the headquarters of the Belgian aurors, Brussels ~**

 

Two men in heavy wool coats made their way through the chilly morning streets of Brussels. They were both aurors and on their way to start their early shifts.

“Sir, will you be able to make it to the meeting about the smuggler case?” the detective asked his boss that was walking beside him.

“I’d like to, Dennis,” the head auror replied, “But I still have a meeting about the state of the nation later on and before that I have to deliver that blasted speech on breaking and entering statistics. If the press doesn’t take too long, then I promise I’ll attend the smuggler case meeting.”

“Alright. Thanks, boss,” Dennis replied. The two men turned the last corner and crossed the plaza before the building that housed the Belgian auror’s headquarters. “This case is heating up and Antwerp’s harbour workers are getting antsier each week we fail to deliver any results,” Dennis added, a worried frown marring his face. “If we don’t get this under wraps soon, then I fear the reporters will spin another tale about our supposed incompetence… or whatever they are going to call it this time.”

“I know, Dennis! I know!” the head auror placated, as they made their way up the wide staircase leading to their office’s front entrance. “But we’re still notoriously short staffed and the financial department is already at my throat for overspending. I have to work with what I have-”

In that moment, a sudden, loud popping noise interrupted the head auror mid-speech.

“What was that?” the head auror asked as he looked to the detective beside him with a puzzled expression. Dennis only shrugged, but turned around to look for what could have caused that noise.

“Boss!” the detective exclaimed after a moment. He grabbed the head auror’s shoulder and turned the other man around to face the shipping crate that had appeared at the foot of the stairs they were standing on. Passers-by had stopped as well and were curiously watching the crate that was decorated to look like a giant present.

The head auror let out an annoyed sigh and rubbed his forehead. “Oh, I hope this isn’t another protest by those annoying pansies that campaign for more equality, or whatever…” He trailed off however, when a very recognisable man stepped out from behind the mysterious shipping crate.

“By Merlin’s beard, Grindelwald!” Dennis exclaimed as he and his boss were instantly throwing a stunning and an incarcerating spell at the dark lord. Instead of engaging them, Gellert simply scurried back behind the shipping crate, though.

“Oy! Is this how you thank people for essentially doing your jobs for you?” the dark lord called from where he was standing pressed up against the back of the crate.

“Alert the others!” the head auror whispered urgently to his detective, before both men cautiously advanced on the dark lord.

The head auror didn’t dare to throw a spell at the mysterious shipping crate the dark lord was hiding behind, because god knows what would happen if it was hit. Grindelwald was a terrorist and inside the box could be a bomb or something equally deadly for all they knew.

“Grindelwald! Lay down you wand and surrender!” the head auror eventually addressed the German.

“I think not!” the dark lord called back. Gellert leaned to the side and took a peek around the box’s corner. He flinched back behind the crate and a spell flew by where his head had been less than a second ago.

”Rude, my boys!” the dark lord chided playfully. “But you’re lucky! I’m feeling rather forgiving today, so I’ll leave you this present anyway!”

Sensing that Grindelwald was about to bail on them, the head auror as well as the requested reinforcements that had arrived in the meantime, started sprinting towards the box. Gellert only chuckled at the sound of the auror’s feet slapping onto the ground as they ran towards him in a last ditch attempt at stopping him.

“ _Au revoir, mes chéries!_ **1** _”_ Gellert called mockingly before he apparated away just as the aurors rounded the shipping crate.

**~~~**

“ ** _Dark lord dropping off present for Belgian aurors_** _!_

_-Last Friday morning the notorious dark lord Gellert Grindelwald paid a visit to the aurors’ headquarters in Brussels and he didn’t come by empty handed! No, he had a highly controversial present in tow for our aurors. And even though the aurors had been more than superior in number, they had once more failed to apprehend the dark lord who had appeared in the middle of the ministry’s plaza as the morning rush hour was fully underway. Once the box Grindelwald had dropped off had been opened, its content had been revealed to be the stunned members of an international trafficking ring. Grindelwald, who lately seems to have a great deal of fun with showing up authorities all over Europe, subsequently caused quite the stir with his ‘present’ that is currently topic of much discussion._

_In reaction to recent events, an up-and-coming minister of the liberal party called Grindelwald a ‘_ revolutionist’, _‘_ who had finally dared to address these issues in our society. How can it be that a dark lord easily succeeds where the aurors have failed to deliver anything in the trafficker case for months? _’ said minister asked at the latest meeting of parliament._

 _The head of the conservative party was of a very different opinion, however. In his eyes Grindelwald was ‘_ a terrorist who seeks to undermine our legislative structures and to destabilise our political system! We cannot allow a dark lord to influence our rightful society and must therefore do anything in our power to put a stop Grindelwald’s hideous machinations! _’…_ ” Newt trailed off from where he had been reading the newspaper aloud, since he couldn’t keep his laughter in check anymore.

“ _’Hideous machinations’_ , they say?” Gellert scoffed. “Like these conservatives aren’t the money-loving racists they are!” the dark lord ranted angrily.

“You don’t have to tell me! I’m just reading what the article says,” Newt justified himself, throwing an askew glance at the grumpy German sitting across the room from him at his desk.

Gellert instantly felt sorry for addressing Newt in such a stroppy tone of voice while they were discussing their jaunt to Belgium. He rose from his chair and went over to the redhead that was reclining against the backrest of the chesterfield in the dark lord’s office. Gellert approached the back of the couch and from behind, he looped his arms around the magizoologist.

“Sorry,” Gellert mumbled, his face resting close by Newt’s ear. “Forgive me?” he added before placing a soft kiss on the back of the redhead’s neck.

“Yes, It’s fine! It’s fine!” Newt replied, squirming as he tried to escape the tickling breath on the back of his neck.  

Keeping his grip loose, Gellert continued undeterred and placed some more kisses on Newt’s neck.

A short while later Newt lightly slapped Gellert’s wrist and in between his giggles managed to get out, “Stop it, Gellert!”

The dark lord followed Newt’s request and ceased his ‘attack’. Staying draped over the back of the couch like a predatory cat, Gellert nuzzled the crook between the redhead’s neck and shoulder instead. He let out a content sigh and closed his eyes when Newt lifted a hand to his head and gently carded his fingers through his white-blonde hair.  

“I think I need another holiday,” Gellert mumbled tiredly. “Anywhere in particular you always wanted to go?”

“Hm, let me think…” Newt replied, quite amused by the other’s behaviour. “Um…Maybe Finland?”

“Finland it is,” Gellert acquiesced readily. After a thoughtful pause he added, “We’re going to need to get some damn warm clothes…”

Newt chuckled. “Yes, that we do,” he assented, his tone of voice unmistakably fond. “To get properly warmed up again, we could also extend our holiday and go somewhere hot afterwards,” the redhead threw in casually.

“Yes, good idea,” Gellert mumbled into Newt’ shoulder sleepily. “Good idea. Definitely gotta keep it in mind…” he added, sounding like he was close to falling asleep.

Newt folded up the newspaper and put it aside before he laid his hands over Gellert’s. “Come on, let’s head off to bed,” he suggested.

The dark lord only mumbled something incoherent in reply, but temporarily released the redhead from his hold none the less. Once Newt had gotten up and rounded the couch, Gellert promptly put his arm around Newt’s waist though, half draping himself over the other. With a fond smile on his lips, Newt proceeded to steer the both of them to the door.

“Oh! I forgot the lights!” Newt remarked once they had crossed the room.

Before the magizoologist could even begin to fumble for his wand, Gellert turned off the lights with a casual snap of his fingers.

“Thank you, my dear!” Newt said warmly before they entered the hallway and ambled away.

**~~~**

**1** \- Goodbye, my darlings!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, the Belgian head auror hadn’t been far off when he had at first suspected some pansies to be behind the mystery of the fake present ;) 
> 
> Now there’s only one more chapter to go and then this fic will be complete. Not to worry though, with about 4.8k words it’s at least going to be a big one!
> 
> But best things last, I have another announcement to make!  
> Some of your comments have gotten me thinking and basically I simply asked myself what kind of fic I’d write if I really, really wanted to put our boys through the wringer. You might be delighted to hear that the results of my musings had led to me coming up with an idea for a sequel to ‘an unlikely turtle dove’ that’s going to be full of angst and pain. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ 
> 
> P.S: This chapter’s theme song is: Arctic Monkeys - Science Fiction [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMI9GXTLZyI) (Fun fact: The working title for this chapter has been ‘Badass Newt ft. Gellert vs. poachers’ before I picked its final title.)


	18. Since you laid eyes on me, I want to

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, last chapter already, which means I’ve finished my first fanfiction \\(^o^)/  
> I want to thank you all so much for reading as well as for the many comments and kudos you’ve left! I had such a great time and you were absolutely the best readers! ♥  
> Now, I hope that you enjoy this last chapter and that I’ll see you again at the sequel!

**~ One Night in the harbour district of Hamburg, Germany ~**

Newt was running through the narrow alleys of the sparsely lit harbour district of Hamburg. He had just successfully broken up a small trafficking ring all by himself before things started to go downhill. Gellert had pleaded to come with or for Newt to at least take Hermann along, but he had declined, arguing that such a low risk operation as this one didn’t warrant those kind of precautions.

And Newt would have been right in his evaluation, if only his break-in wouldn’t have coincided with an auror-run raid to dismantle the exact same trafficking ring on the exact same night. Of course Newt had had the misfortune of being spotted by the aurors when he had made his escape. They most likely thought he was one of the traffickers trying to make a run for it and therefore pursued him. Newt was however faster and more creative than them and managed to shake most of his tail in a matter of minutes. Now, only one rather persistent auror was still chasing after him.

Newt rounded a corner and dashed into the nearest shadowy niche he could make out. Once he had taken cover, he additionally hid himself from view with a very good glamour. And indeed a dark figure hushed past where Newt was hiding in the narrow nook between two buildings only a few seconds later. Wanting to make sure that the coast would be really clear, Newt decided to remain still for few minutes while listened for any signs of someone still snooping around after him.

Newt leaned back and rested his head against the damp wall behind him. From what he had managed to overhear in the warehouse, he had learned that the raid was apparently part of a cooperative effort by German and American Aurors to curtail international trafficking of black-market artefacts. As he contemplated his bad luck, Newt took in big gulps of air to regain his breath after all the running he had just done. A few minutes later, when the magizoologist couldn’t make out anything beyond background noises, he finally stepped out of his hiding place. That was a mistake though, as he was about to find out a second later.

The same auror that had so persistently chased after him stood at the end of the alleyway. As soon as Newt had dropped his glamour and stepped out from his nook, the man had thrown a stunner the magizoologist’s way before he briskly marched over. Barely managing to block the stunner in time before it would have hit him, Newt once more thanked his quick reflexes for saving him from disaster. The magizoologist was just about to dash back into his nook for cover, when the auror abruptly stopped his advance and slightly lowered his wand.

“Newton?” the auror called quietly, his voice sounding rather familiar to the redhead.

Newt snapped his gaze to the figure in to elegant black coat with white accents standing only a few meters away from him. Newt was half hiding behind the corner of the closest building as he peered at the man he finally recognized. ‘ _Of fucking course it had to be him…_ ’ Newt thought to himself.

Coughing and fiddling with his wand, the magizoologist replied, “Ahm, yeah…Fancy meeting you here, Mr. Graves.” Newt let out an awkward chuckle and graced the other with a sheepish smile.

Sensing the Englishman’s nervousness, Percival dropped the hand holding his wand so that its tip was now pointing towards the ground. “I could say the same thing, Mr. Scamander!”

“Ah…Well, it was nice running into you, but I’m afraid I have to get going since I’m in a bit of a hurry,” Newt tried to excuse himself as he kept inching further behind the corner.

The American remained standing where he was, watching the redhead curiously. “Oh, don’t be like that, Mr. Scamander,” he spoke up. “You have nothing to worry about. After all, I won’t be the one who’s going to arrest you.”

That made the magizoologist stop in his retreat as he once more regarded the auror with a disbelieving expression.

“I…um, what?” was all Newt managed to stutter out. He was quite taken aback by the other man’s statement, since he would have expected the auror to rather do the opposite. Warily Newt mustered the other man, but Mr. Graves’s stance and expression didn’t contradict his words. Taking a risk, Newt mumbled, “Why won’t you?”

Percival let out a humourless chuckle. “I’m not the stuck-up stickler for rules many seem to take me for,” he explained. At Newt’s dumbfounded expression, a smile hushed over his lips before he added softly, “Does that surprise you?”

“To be honest? Yeah, it does,” Newt admitted. “I’m not exactly on the best standing with the law right now…”

“I’m well aware of that,” Percival replied. Even though he was smiling, his eyes hadn’t lost their intimidating glimmer. “Whatever did you do that it made the British ministry put out an arrest warrant for you?”

Newt swallowed and studied the other man’s face. “I was forbidden from leaving England but I did so anyway,” the magizoologist settled on eventually.

“Hmm…,” was all the auror had to say to that.

“Um, excuse me for asking, but…why aren’t you going to arrest me?” Newt stuttered out quietly, his gaze briefly flitting to the ground.

“I think I have an idea of the kind of person that you are, Mr. Scamander,” the auror replied, his demeanour calm. “You are an idealist and though you might have been in conflict with the law a few times before, you have a strong moral compass,” Mr. Graves elaborated. “I think you try to be good, but your morals unfortunately don’t always coincide with the given laws, do they?”

Seeing that the redhead seemed to have trouble with finding any words to formulate a reply, the American simply continued. “You’ve done a lot for me and I therefore owe you quite the dept. Am I right in assuming that you have nothing to do with those traffickers?”

Newt gave small nod in reply.

“Then you’re just an acquaintance I have met in Hamburg whilst chasing after some fugitive, internationally-wanted criminals,” Percival declared.

“Oh! Thank you,” Newt mumbled, smiling shyly once he had gotten the other’s meaning.

“No need to thank me,” the auror brushed off though. “I’ve been a guest at your house and I’ve seen how your brother treats you. I’m a trained auror, yet I ignored what was right before my eyes,” Percival added with a sharp gesture of his hand. “So, to be rather frank, I’m also doing this to appease my guilty conscience. And by Morgana, do I hope this doesn’t come back to bite me one day…” he grumbled before trailing off.

Unsettled by the American’s slightly erratic behaviour, Newt made to finally apparate away. Mr. Graves was little faster though and halted the magizoologist with another question.

“You’re with him now, aren’t you?” Percival asked, a troubled frown marring his forehead.

“Who do-“

“You know exactly who I mean!” the auror interjected sharply, disrupting the redhead’s tentative question.

Newt shrank back, fearing Mr. Graves had changed his mind and was going to arrest him now anyway. However, Newt had slightly miscalculated the distance to the wall behind him and his back bumped it. With nowhere else to go, Newt gripped his wand tightly and peered back at Mr. Graves. The auror had taken a step forward to compensate for the step he had taken backwards. Noting the American still had his wand pointed downwards though, Newt faltered and decided to stay a moment longer. Avoiding the other’s eyes, he answered the auror’s question with a nod.

“Damn it!” Percival exclaimed immediately. At the fearful expression on Newt’s face, Percival made an effort to calm down and to soften his grim expression. “Still, this is something the ministry has strongly suspected for a few months now. You haven’t exactly been subtle, you know?” Percival muttered, trying to ease the effects his initial reaction had had on the other man. Regarding the magizoologist with a serious expression, Percival continued, “I might not agree with your life choices or the friends you seemed to have picked…But I know that whatever you have been doing is a hell of lot more effective than what we aurors have been trying to do for years now.”  

“I…I don’t understand,” Newt mumbled, puzzled by what the auror was trying to get at.

“You’ve been seen in direct contact with Grindelwald. So, I assume you at least had some talks with him. Correct?” Mr. Graves asked without expecting an answer. “That would at least be the most reasonable explanation for the sudden exceedingly beast-friendly attitude of Grindelwald’s organisation,” Percival held up finger, silencing whatever Newt was going to interject. “There’s another thing coinciding with your disappearance as well. For example: Grindelwald’s deeds in Sicily and Brussels were still just as annoying as usual, but there was a certain cruelness missing in them. That’s an all over trend we’ve noticed in the dark lord’s actions over the last year,” Percival concluded. “I’m not sure how much you have to do with this, but I’m sure you’re probably due more thanks than most would suspect.”

“I…um…” Newt mumbled, only to be interrupted once more.

“It’s late. I have to get back to the crime scene,” the American declared.

“Oh, ok. Goodbye then,” Newt said meekly.

The auror turned to go but threw a last glance over his shoulder at the skittish redhead. “Oh, and Mr. Scamander?” he asked, making Newt’s gaze snap up towards his face. “Don’t think I’ll be this lenient if we ever meet again. I consider my debt repaid now and therefore won’t turn a blind eye next time. Clear?” the auror asked sternly.

Newt gulped and nodded his head in confirmation. Without another word the director turned around and apparated away, leaving Newt to stand alone in the deserted alley. For a second the magizoologist had honestly thought that Mr. Graves might be a bit more sympathetic, but the American had made his standpoint quite clear with his last words.

Sighing, Newt ruffled his hair before taking a pre-prepared portkey in the form of a teaspoon out of his jacket pocket. Newt knew that he was late to return and that Gellert was probably already worried sick for him. He was not looking forward to the German gently berating him for his recklessness the whole of the next week. However, Newt was honest enough to admit to himself that Gellert did rather have a point worrying for his safety.  

**~ A few months later, somewhere in Barcelona, Spain ~**

It was a sunny, yet temperate afternoon in the colourful streets of Barcelona. Many people were milling about in cafes and restaurants, enjoying the South-European flair of the city of artists. The locals as well as the tourists watched curiously as crowd of colourfully dressed people danced through the streets, heading for the plaza Cataluña.

The peaceful protest march was accompanied by light-hearted music and drum beats which had most of the spectators smiling and clapping along. People of seemingly every nationality and gender could be made out in the crowd of activists. Everyone knew what they were campaigning for, since their rally had been announced weeks in advance.

That was why no one was really that shocked to see women walk arm in arm with other women or to see some men openly holding hands with other men. The protesters’ signs demanded things like ‘ _Equality for all!_ ’, ‘ _Respect for queers!_ ’ or ‘ _End the ostracism of non-heterosexual people!_ ’. Many participants also had banderols or flags reading ‘ _Make love not war’_ with them. By wearing unusually colourful clothes or eccentric hats the protesters wanted to stand out for once to garner more attention to their cause.

These kind of protests had been happening all over Europe over the last year, people finally upset enough to start rallying against their mostly conservative minded governments. The few liberal politicians there were agreed with the protesters’ peaceful cause, but they had a hard time at bringing about any change since they were in the minority.

Before Barcelona’s protest march could come anywhere near its destination of plaza Cataluña, the happy demonstrators were forced to a stop. A group of aurors had suddenly appeared before them, cutting off their way. The music and drum beats trailed off and the crowd hushed once everyone had registered the aurors that had obviously come to stop them.

Many similar protests had been forcefully ended and dissolved by aurors before. The activists had of course heard of how callous some aurors had been when they had put a forceful end to these kind of marches in other cities. There were many stories going around about how brutally their fellows had been treated by the authorities and how some people had to get treated at a hospital after they had been released from custody. 

That was why an oppressive silence had taken over to previously carefree street full of merrily protesting wizards and witches. Many participants of the demonstration threw their partners or friends worried glances and hushed whispers were exchanged. The aurors took up formation before the crowd before advancing on them with grim expressions on their faces.

Eyes widening in fear, the protesters drew back from the thuggish aurors that clearly intended to break up their unwanted protest march by force if necessary. The demonstrators moved together closer and closer since the aurors were approaching faster than they could draw away from them. The recoiling crowd however revealed a single man who stubbornly remained standing where he was, despite of the aurors quickly focusing in on him.

The blond man in a lavender suit stood seemingly unafraid before the aurors who had halted a few meters in front of him. An awed murmur went through the crowd after it had stopped its retreat a few steps behind the man, many protesters wondering and worrying what the aurors might do now.

An elderly man that was clearly the boss of the aurors took a step closer to the lone protester that had dared to defy them. He mustered the blonde carefully, noting his well-tailored and clearly expensive pastel coloured suit. The blonde wore no hat and his hair wasn’t slicked back, a few strands falling over one of his eyes instead. The head auror also noted how the curious dark eye of the stranger leisurely studied him in return. A few seconds later, the defiant stranger met the head auror’s eyes unflinchingly, the one eye that wasn’t hidden behind his hair piercingly sharp.

“Protesters!” the head auror finally addressed the crowd. “We have been tasked with dissolving this illegal rally of yours. We demand that you lay down your signs and cease this protest immediately!” he called loudly enough for everyone to hear.

“Excuse me,” the lone blonde man now spearheading the crowd of protesters spoke up, his tone polite. “But this rally has been announced weeks ago. No one has declared it illegal until now, so why the sudden change of mind now that it is already under way?”

“You better be careful how you speak to me!” the head auror hissed back, “It is not your place to question the legitimacy of my orders! The town council has declared this rally illegal and so I will see to it that it is dissolved!” he declared.

“Please, there is no need for this kind of aggression,” the blonde pleaded, trying to deescalate the charged situation. “Surely we’re no criminals for protesting peacefully after all.”

“How dare you?” the head auror sputtered, unbelieving that someone would even try to undermine his authority. “We’ll arrest you first and we’re going to make an example out of you, believe me!” he added as he took another step closer to the blonde, his wand held up threateningly. “No one talks to us like that, least not a damn sodomite like you!” the head of the aurors spat, making the crowd of protesters gasp in offence as well as fear for their fellow campaigner.

“Woah! Hey…” the blond man muttered. He had raised his empty hands as a sign of peace and started slowly backing away from the aurors. “I’m not looking for any conflict! I’m here to enjoy a nice holiday, nothing more! There’s no need for insults…This kind of aggression is totally unnecessary…” he trailed off when the head auror snarled and made to attack.

The mass of people exclaimed in fear, many shouting “No!” or “Stop!” when they saw the head auror swing his wand at the brave man that had stood up for them.

The head auror’s hex hurled toward the unarmed man, but unlike most had anticipated, it never reached its target. The blonde stood with one arm raised up before him, his palm facing the aurors. A nearly see-through shield that originated from his hand was what had stopped the hex a hair’s breadth before it would have hit him. The crowd as well as the aurors held their breaths and stood still, needing a few seconds to process the unexpected turn of events.

The blond meanwhile put down the hand with which he had blocked the auror’s attack. He lowered his head and lightly shook it from right to left as he carded his other hand through his hair, combing back the strands that had previously hung over his eye. His face still turned to the ground, the blonde slightly turned to his fellow protesters.

“Sorry, love, I didn’t mean for this to get so out of hand,” the man said before he turned back fully to the aurors. Letting out a puff of breath he muttered something to himself that sounded like ‘ _improv then_ ’ before he addressed the aurors. “For all our lives we’ve been disrespected, bullied and discriminated against. Now that we finally dare to get organized so we can stand up for ourselves, our peaceful protest is met with uncalled-for violence,” the man announced.

Pausing briefly, he gestured at the formation of aurors that were still standing before him, rooted to the spot. “I ask you: Why do you seem to hate us so much? We are no threat to you, we do not use violence to make our plea heard. Is it so despicable for you, our cause? Even though we only want what everyone surely must want -to live freely and to be free to love whomever we want to,” the blonde said, a heartfelt streak of distress carrying in his voice. The protesters listened in awe, enraptured by the truths the man did not shy away from uttering.

After finally raising his gaze to search out the head auror’s eyes the blond asked, voice deceptively soft, “Why do you want to silence us so badly?”

The aurors were violently jolted out of their stupor by the mismatched eyes now boring into them. Of course they all recognized those incredibly unique eyes, one light, one dark, even if nothing else would have given away the identity of the infamous dark lord standing before them.

Gellert smirked as the situation from before was reversed, the aurors now the ones drawing back with fear in their eyes. He tilted his head slightly before he asked mockingly, “What? Nothing to say? Cat got your tongue?”

Gellert took a step towards the aurors, his wand sliding into his hand from where he had it tucked up his sleeve. Now even most of the protesters standing behind him recognised him for who he was, the unusual design of the elder wand a rather obvious give-away. The demonstrators didn’t back away from the blonde in fear though, instead they seemed less afraid of the man that had revealed himself to be the infamous dark lord then of the aurors.

“Never mind then,” Gellert continued when it was clear there would be no reply forthcoming from the aurors any time soon. “Let’s get right to the part where I stun you then, shall we?” he called before he engaged the aurors in battle.

Spells were streaking through the air, their different hues briefly illuminating the pale houses to their left and right in chromatic colour. However, the light show was over pretty soon after it had begun, Grindelwald clearly the superior duellist even though the aurors outnumbered him by far. At the elegant movements of Gellert’s wand they all fell like dominos, their unconscious bodies piling up on the ground.

With a last flick of his wand, the dark lord levitated the aurors to the side of the street, placing them on the sidewalk in rather compromising positions. Knowing the press would get many good and highly embarrassing photographs of the unconscious men, Gellert put away his wand and turned back to the awed spectators standing behind him. Grinning charmingly, he asked, “Shall we continue then?” as he indicated the now cleared way ahead of the protest march with his raised arm.

Loud cheering erupted a second later and the first people started forward, unafraid to pass by the dark lord that had rather unexpectedly come to their aid. A couple of elderly women with walking sticks even directly approached Gellert.

“Thank you for standing up for us, young man,” one of them said as she peered up at Gellert through a pair of thick glasses. “That was very brave!” She rummaged in her pockets and pulled out something that looked like candy. “Here, have some toffees!” she said as she pressed the candy into Gellert’s hand. She grabbed her partner’s hand and they both turned to follow the moving-along demonstrators, leaving the dark lord peering after them in slight puzzlement.

Gellert shrugged and pocketed the toffees before eventually turning back around. He let his gaze sweep over the people around him, searching for a man in suit that matched the exact shade of green of his eyes. Gellert didn’t have to search long, since that man was already heading towards him, smiling widely.

“I guess we can’t have one holiday without you causing at least one national incident,” Newt called before he reached Gellert’s side.

Not caring for the spectators around them and knowing Newt wouldn’t mind, Gellert pulled the redhead towards himself and lightly dipped him into a kiss. The closest people cheered happily, fully supportive of the two men, someone even taking a photograph.

When Gellert had straightened the other back up again, he murmured, “It was a good one, though?”

“Yes, of course it was!” Newt assured immediately. “They deserved getting their asses handed to them,” he added, scowling fiercely.

Gellert grinned and grabbed Newt’s hand. “Let’s get going?” he asked, as he nodded in the direction the protest march had headed off to.

“Of course,” the redhead replied before both men were quickly swallowed up in the mass of their fellow protesters.

 

**~ The next morning, somewhere in London, England ~**

Theseus finished his morning routine before he headed downstairs into his kitchen. He was getting more sleep than ever since he had been demoted and taken off the international Grindelwald task force. Even though he was still extremely pissed that this was the punishment his superiors had decided on for his behaviour in Italy, he knew that there was nothing he could do about it. His outrageous behaviour not only in Sicily had forced his bosses to act. Director Travers had regretfully informed him a few weeks ago that they couldn’t afford any kind of scandal right now, since the citizens’ trust in the aurors had been steadily decreasing over the last months. So the last thing they needed right now was the type of scandal that was centred on one of their international agents causing tensions between foreign ministries.

Only dressed in Pyjamas and a bathrobe, Theseus therefore shuffled into his kitchen and went about preparing himself some eggs and bacon. He plated his breakfast and took a seat at the kitchen table before summoning today’s newspaper to himself.

He choked on his first fork-full of bacon though when he was assaulted by the prominent headline about Grindelwald’s most recent escapade in Barcelona. Beneath the headline was a moving picture showing an excerpt where the dark lord dipped a redheaded man before kissing him squarely on the mouth. While Grindelwald’s smirking face could be made out clearly, the other man’s identity was unknown since he had his back turned towards the photographer. The other man wasn’t that unknown to Theseus though, who knew every curl of red hair on the back of that head.

**~~~**

Outside, on the street in front of head auror Scamander’s house his elderly neighbours were conversing cheerfully. Their happy exchange of gossip was interrupted however by loud banging noises and the sound of things shattering. Frowning in bewilderment, Ms. Bingley glanced at where all the racket was coming from before she turned toward her friends.

“That boy at it again!” she complained, shaking her fist at Theseus’ house. At the raised eyebrows of her fellow neighbourhood elderly ladies, she elaborated, “It’s been like that for over a year now! Occasionally he gets these wild outbursts and just starts redecorating his whole house from the sounds of it. It’s driving me bonkers!”

“Isn’t he married, though?” another old lady threw in.

“Not really sure, if he already is. He’s definitely betrothed to that dark haired Lestrange girl though,” Mrs. Bingley noted.

“Well, you’d think that as his betrothed or wife or whatever she would put a stop to such rambunctious behaviour,” another lady mused.

“Oh! Now that you mention it!” Mrs. Bingley replied, grinning gleefully, “I haven’t seen the Lestrange girl around in at least three months…”

Excited tittering went through the small gathering of old ladies who were rather excited to learn of such juicy new gossip material that they could share at the next meeting of their knitting club.

 

**~ A few days later, still in London, England ~**

 

Mrs. Bingley and her gossipy friends had come together once more in an impromptu meeting. It was late in the afternoon and Theseus was just returning from a long day at the office. He was hoping to get home unmolested by his overbearing neighbours, but it seemed like he had no such luck today.

“Oh, Mr. Scamander!” Mrs. Bingley called as soon as the auror had come into view.

Putting on a forced smile, Theseus replied, “Good afternoon, Mrs. Bingley! I hope the hip doesn’t give you any trouble today?”

“A good evening to you as well! And don’t worry, the hip is fine! Might not be as agile as I once was, but I’m still kicking!” Mrs. Bingley joked, making her entourage titter and giggle. “Oh, but Mr. Scamander, since you’re here and all, my friends and I were wondering if you might give us a bit of an inside on this,” she continued and handed Theseus a tabloid magazine.  “I was wondering what the aurors where thinking of this,” she added, pointing out the blurry zoom-in of a very familiar photograph that was depicted on the tabloid’s third page.

His smile getting more strained, Theseus humoured his neighbour and took the tabloid. “Mrs. Bingley, I’m afraid I can’t disclose any information on ongoing cases, especially not…” Theseus trailed off though, once he had read and processed the corresponding headline to the zoomed-in photograph. Everyone knew of that photograph by now. After all, it had gone around the world together with news of the dark lord’s escapades in Barcelona. What was new however, was this detail shown in the rather blurry zoom-in that even Theseus had missed up until now.

The enlarged section showed a close-up of Grindelwald’s hands, or more specifically his fingers. On a few of them there were silver rings of various sizes and designs that matched Grindelwald’s all over aesthetic. Therefore it was rather odd that among those pieces of jewellery there seemed to be one dull and plain golden ring. Another even blurrier zoomed-in showed something golden on the fingers of the redhead in the dark lord’s arms as well.

“Mr. Scamander, are you quite all right? You’ve gone all pale,” Mrs. Bingley noted concernedly. The auror only kept staring at the article in the tabloid though. A bit worried now, Mrs. Bingley rounded the garden fence dividing their front lawns.

“Mr. Scamander?” Mrs. Bingley asked once more, when her previous inquiry went unacknowledged. The auror briefly glanced up at his neighbour after Mrs. Bingley had lightly touched his shoulder. Wide eyed and as white as a sheet the head auror regarded the elderly woman standing beside him for a second before he keeled over in a dead faint.

“Oh no!” Mrs. Bingley exclaimed, hectically fuzzing over the unconscious man lying on the ground before her. “Someone call a healer! He clearly needs medical attention!”

 

**~ The next morning in New York City, USA ~**

Percival sat in his office and sipped from his coffee as he went through important documents and updates on ongoing cases like he was known to do first thing in the morning. As usual, he studied the most pressing documents first. Once again he lamented that his work-load had increased even more since he had been declared the new head of the international Grindelwald task force after his friend Theseus had been demoted.

Curiously Percival picked up a strange British tabloid one of the aurors from the Grindelwald task-force has left in his inbox. On the front page of the tabloid was a sticky note with a short handwritten message and a winking smiley. As the note instructed, he opened the tabloid to page three and perused the photograph as well as the article printed beneath it. 

Eyebrows raising to his hairline, Percival muttered, “That’s not what I meant when I asked Newt if he was _with_ that blonde bastard…”

Percival was interrupted from further contemplating the lurid speculations in the tabloid though when a knock came from his office door. A second later auror Goldstein stuck her head into his office.

“Sir, the meeting with the president is about to start shortly?” she reminded him nervously.

“Oh, yes! Sorry, I nearly forgot!” Percival dropped the tabloid and rounded his desk. “Thanks for reminding me! Let’s get going,” he said as he ushered Mrs. Goldstein out of his office. Percival locked his office door with a gesture of his hand before he and Goldstein briskly made their way to MACUSA’s biggest meeting room for this week’s assignment briefing. Percival hastily shoved the tabloid’s speculations into the back of his mind and concentrated himself fully on the more pressing business lying in wait for him today.

**_The end ~_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this it then for now, my peeps!  
> To conclude this fic:  
> Percy is suddenly reappearing like ‘Bitch, I bet you thought you had seen the last of me?’ After Grindelwald’s stint in Barcelona he’s shaking his head at all those crazy Europeans though.  
> Theseus don’t say nothing, because he’s unconscious in a hospital getting treated for a stress-induced aneurism.  
> Meanwhile Gellert probably had a vision of the future that had Beyoncé’s ‘Single ladies’ playing in the background. Not being a dimwit, Gellert of course took the lady up on her advice.  
> I imagine that nowadays Newt and Gellert simply keep doing their thing with Hermann cheering them on from the side-lines, everything moving on kinda along the lines of ‘and they lived happily ever after’.
> 
> *evil author voice* -or did they? ¬‿¬  
> Well, you’re going to find out in the sequel ‘A sitting duck’!
> 
> P.S.: The theme song for this fic’s last chapter is: Betta Lemme – Play [(YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMI9GXTLZyI)
> 
> PPS: If you’ve enjoyed my fic, then it would make me super happy if you’d leave me a kudo (If you haven’t already of course!) (๑◠‿◠๑) ♥
> 
> *** Sequel is up now! ***


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